Scientific Reports (May 2018)

Heart rate variability is associated with social value orientation in males but not females

  • Alexander Lischke,
  • Anett Mau-Moeller,
  • Robert Jacksteit,
  • Rike Pahnke,
  • Alfons O. Hamm,
  • Matthias Weippert

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25739-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Phylogenetic and neurobiological theories suggest that inter-individual differences in high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) are associated with inter-individual differences in social behavior and social cognition. To test these theories, we investigated whether individuals with high and low HF-HRV would show different preferences for cooperative behavior in social contexts. We recorded resting state HF-HRV in 84 healthy individuals before they completed the Social Value Orientation task, a well-established measure of cooperative preferences. HF-HRV was derived from short-term (300 s) and ultra-short-term (60 s, 120 s) recordings of participants’ heart rate to determine the robustness of possible findings. Irrespective of recording length, we found a sex-dependent association between inter-individual differences in HF-HRV and inter-individual differences in social value orientation: The preference for cooperation was more pronounced among individuals with high as compared low HF-HRV, albeit only in male and not in female participants. These findings suggest that males with high HF-HRV are more inclined to engage in cooperative behavior than males with low HF-HRV.