There is a paucity of developmental data examining the stability of autonomic function during childhood, and even less is known regarding the extent of coordination between autonomic branches. To ...address this, autonomic measures of sympathetic (cardiac pre‐ejection period, PEP; electrodermal activity, and EDA) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia and RSA) function were collected from 339 children annually from kindergarten to second grade. Physiology was quantified into 31 epochs 30 s in length, across a series of baselines and emotion‐inducing films. Rank‐order stability was observed for all three indices, but was higher for cardiac than electrodermal measures. A series of multilevel models was used to identify the proportion of variance in psychophysiological function attributable to the individual (trait), visit (potential developmental change), or epoch (reactivity to task). Both PEP and RSA had sizeable components of individual‐level variance, with PEP showing very small variance attributable to experimental task. In contrast, variance in EDA was largely attributable to task epoch. Variance decompositions of the parasympathetic–sympathetic coordination (e.g., RSA‐EDA) suggest that the branches of the autonomic system are prototypically cooperative, but evidence did not indicate traitlike stability or linear developmental change. The extent of coordination was moderated by emotional context, indicating that autonomic coordination varies dynamically within individuals. These findings have implications for future work attempting to identify the contextual, experiential, and demographic factors that modulate developmental trajectories of autonomic function and coordination, and for examination of how developmental changes in autonomic psychophysiology are related to or predict behavioral trajectories across a range of psychological domains.
To advance the understanding of how parental self‐regulation contributes to their role in supporting children's development, this study proposes a model of the dynamic processes involved in parental ...self‐regulation. Based on time‐series data from 157 mothers and their 30‐ to 60‐month‐old children (49.7% female; 96% White; data collected June 2017–December 2019 in central Pennsylvania, U.S.) during a challenging wait task, the model was tested by examining the temporal relations among challenging child behavior, maternal physiology, and maternal responsiveness. Results were consistent with the hypothesized dynamic negative feedback processes and revealed their associations with the overall quality of parenting behaviors and experiences. Findings elucidate how parents adapt to competing external (attending to child) and internal (restoring parents' equilibrium) demands during parenting challenges.
Research utilizing event‐related potential (ERP) methods is generally biased with regard to sample representativeness. Among the myriad of factors that contribute to sample bias are researchers' ...assumptions about the extent to which racial differences in hair texture, volume, and style impact electrode placement, and subsequently, study eligibility. The current study examines these impacts using data collected from n = 213 individuals ages 17–19 years, and offers guidance on collection of ERP data across the full spectrum of hair types. Individual differences were quantified for hair texture using a visual scale, and for hair volume by measuring the amount of gel used in cap preparation. Electroencephalography data quality was assessed with multiple metrics at the preprocessing, post‐processing, and variable generation stages. Results indicate that hair volume is associated with small, but systematic differences in signal quality and signal amplitude. Such differences are highly problematic as they could be misattributed to cognitive differences among groups. However, inclusion of gel volume as a covariate to account for individual differences in hair volume significantly reduced, and in most cases eliminated, group differences. We discuss strategies for overcoming real and perceived technical barriers for researchers seeking to achieve greater inclusivity and representativeness in ERP research.
Differences in hair volume that frequently vary by race may introduce systematic bias in ERP amplitudes. Our results indicate that accounting for these differences by quantifying gel volume used during cap setup provides a means to statistically control this confound, facilitating greater inclusivity of participants in EEG research.
This Special Issue is devoted to the illustration and discussion of three key demographic variables (sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) that have been shown to moderate ...associations between psychophysiological processes and behavior. The introduction to the issue discusses the role of phenotypic plasticity in the emergence of different neural processes that achieve the same behavioral outcome, with emphasis on how these relatively stable developmental contexts affect brain/behavior associations without necessarily resulting in difference in behavior. These findings have profound significance for the implications of generalization and call into question the presumption that diverse samples produce an average result that is appropriately reflective of the individuals themselves. Increasing diversity within psychophysiological research is critical in elucidating mechanisms by which the human brain can accomplish cognitive and affective behaviors. This article further examines the logistical and ethical challenges faced in achieving this goal.
High rates of comorbidity are observed between internalizing and externalizing problems, yet the developmental dynamics of comorbid symptom presentations are not yet well understood. This study ...explored the developmental course of latent profiles of internalizing and externalizing symptoms across kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. The sample consisted of 336 children from an urban, low-income community, selected based on relatively high (61%) or low (39%) aggressive/oppositional behavior problems at school entry (64% male; 70% African American, 20% Hispanic). Teachers reported on children's symptoms in each year. An exploratory latent profile analysis of children's scores on aggression/oppositionality, hyperactivity/inattention, anxiety, and social withdrawal symptom factors revealed four latent symptom profiles: comorbid (48% of the sample in each year), internalizing (19%-23%), externalizing (21%-22%), and well-adjusted (7%-11%). The developmental course of these symptom profiles was examined using a latent transition analysis, which revealed remarkably high continuity in the comorbid symptom profile (89% from one year to the next) and moderately high continuity in both the internalizing and externalizing profiles (80% and 71%, respectively). Internalizing children had a 20% probability of remitting to the well-adjusted profile by the following year, whereas externalizing children had a 25% probability of transitioning to the comorbid profile. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a common vulnerability factor contributes to developmentally stable internalizing-externalizing comorbidity, while also suggesting that some children with externalizing symptoms are at risk for subsequently accumulating internalizing symptoms.
Conceptual work on interpersonal physiology suggests that the dynamic concordance between two person's physiological arousal may transpire on multiple timescales, and the timescale on which it ...unfolds may determine its psychological significance. The current study tested this hypothesis in the context of parent–child interaction by examining whether the concordance in their cardiac arousal on two timescales was differentially associated with parental characteristics. Using data from 98 fathers and their 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children during a task designed to frustrate young children, results indicated that the associations between cardiac concordance and fathers' self‐reported parenting hassles emerged for the slower timescale (concordant increasing trends in arousal), whereas concordance on the faster timescale (concordant second‐by‐second reactivity) was associated with fathers' emotional clarity. Findings suggest that there may be multiple layers of concordant patterns in the dynamic associations between fathers' and children's cardiac arousal, which unfold on different timescales and bear different psychological significance.
This study demonstrates that the dynamic concordance between fathers' and children's cardiac arousal unfolding on two different timescales bear different psychological significance. The findings challenge the common view of physiological concordance as a uni‐structural phenomenon and highlight the importance of considering the timescale of underlying psychological processes in developing an integrated understanding of interpersonal physiology.
Although anatomical research clearly demonstrates the ability of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system to independently influence cardiac function, little ...research has examined whether coordinated activation is typical or whether the extent of autonomic coordination is situationally dependent. This study examines the extent of coordination between sympathetic (cardiac pre‐ejection period: PEP) and parasympathetic (respiratory sinus arrhythmia: RSA) influences on the cardiac function to determine whether coordination is a trait‐like between‐person characteristic or a state‐varying within‐person phenomenon, and if so, whether variability in autonomic coordination is modulated by cognitive (P3b amplitude) or affective state. Kindergarten‐aged children (n = 257) completed a go/no‐go task administered in blocks designed to induce affective states through the delivery of reward (Blocks 1 and 3) and frustration (Block 2). Results from multilevel models that allowed for the simultaneous examination of between‐person and within‐person associations in the repeated measures data suggested that (a) children with higher overall RSA also tended to have higher overall PEP; (b) at within‐person level, RSA and PEP tended to be reciprocally coordinated; but that (c) when frustration invokes cognitive disengagement, coordination between parasympathetic and sympathetic systems demonstrate compensatory coordination. These findings highlight the extent to which the coordination of autonomic systems is a dynamic state‐like phenomenon rather than a trait‐like individual differences characteristic.
Very little is known about whether activity in the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is characterized by coordinated, reciprocal, changes across task, and whether coordination is modulated by cortical activation. Results from this study indicate that autonomic coordination is a dynamic, within‐person, process, with the extent and nature of coordination modulated by the motivational context, but not by the cortical indicators of attention. Coordination among autonomic branches appears to be a state‐like phenomenon rather than a trait‐like phenomenon.
Abstract Objectives Visual hierarchy underlies all visual design decisions related to information presentation. This manuscript describes the experience of a multidisciplinary health data ...visualization and software design team in using visual hierarchy to redesign a hereditary colorectal cancer lab report. Materials and Methods A series of interviews with representative users were conducted to identify target user groups and determine information hierarchy for each user type. Visual elements (eg, size, color, contrast, etc.) were then assigned to mirror the information hierarchy and workflow for each user type. Results User research identified 2 distinct user groups as consumers of the redesigned lab report. An interactive design employing a 2-level page hierarchy was developed, which stratified the content to support the needs of each user type. Conclusions The challenges related to displaying the complex nature of digital and personal health data can be addressed by applying foundational design methods such as visual hierarchy. Discussion Visual hierarchy, a foundational design principle, can be used by visualization teams to clearly and efficiently present complex datasets associated with healthcare.
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