Frontiers in Psychology (Feb 2018)

Inter-individual Differences in Heart Rate Variability Are Associated with Inter-individual Differences in Empathy and Alexithymia

  • Alexander Lischke,
  • Rike Pahnke,
  • Anett Mau-Moeller,
  • Martin Behrens,
  • Hans J. Grabe,
  • Harald J. Freyberger,
  • Harald J. Freyberger,
  • Alfons O. Hamm,
  • Matthias Weippert

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00229
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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In the present study, we investigated whether inter-individual differences in vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) would be associated with inter-individual differences in empathy and alexithymia. To this end, we determined resting state HF-HRV in 90 individuals that also completed questionnaires assessing inter-individual differences in empathy and alexithymia. Our categorical and dimensional analyses revealed that inter-individual differences in HF-HRV were differently associated with inter-individual differences in empathy and alexithymia. We found that individuals with high HF-HRV reported more empathy and less alexithymia than individuals with low HF-HRV. Moreover, we even found that an increase in HF-HRV was associated with an increase in empathy and a decrease in alexithymia across all participants. Taken together, these findings indicate that individuals with high HF-HRV are more empathetic and less alexithymic than individuals with low HF-HRV. These differences in empathy and alexithymia may explain why individuals with high HF-HRV are more successful in sharing and understanding the mental and emotional states of others than individuals with low HF-HRV.

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