Medical Scientist-Programm 2019

Thema: "The relation of autonomic dysfunction and depressive rumination: effect of autonomic biofeedback training"

Zusammenfassung:
A large body of scientific literature demonstrated that patients with major depression (MD) have an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The well-documented imbalance of the autonomic nervous system in MD patients seems to precede cardiovascular impairments. One key symptom of depression is that patients are caught in perseverative worries that are associated with an autonomic imbalance (rumination). Functional brain imaging studies suggest that a lack of inhibition of frontal brain areas upon limbic structures promotes depressive rumination and sympathetic autonomic arousal. In this research proposal, we want to assess the contribution of sympathetic overactivation and parasympathetic withdrawal to autonomic imbalance in more detail as well as their relation to neural connectivity patterns and rumination levels. Furthermore, we want to compare two types of biofeedback interventions that are thought to ameliorate the autonomic imbalance and alleviate depressive rumination. In a preliminary investigation, we found elevated vagal HRV and increased fronto-limbic functional brain connectivity after heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback training in healthy volunteers. Increased prefrontal influence on the limbic system suggests an impact of biofeedback on emotion regulation and cognitive control. In this way, we want to promote the application of biofeedback interventions to decrease disease severity in MD patients.