Daily biofeedback to modulate heart rate oscillations affects structural volume in hippocampal subregions targeted by the locus coeruleus in older adults but not younger adults

Neurobiol Aging. 2023 Sep 1;132:85-99. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.08.010. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTUsing data from a clinical trial, we tested the hypothesis that daily sessions modulating heart rate oscillations affect older adults' volume of a region-of-interest (ROI) comprised of adjacent hippocampal subregions with relatively strong locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic input. Younger and older adults were randomly assigned to one of two daily biofeedback practices for 5 weeks: (1) engage in slow-paced breathing to increase the amplitude of oscillations in heart rate at their breathing frequency (Osc+); (2) engage in self-selected strategies to decrease heart rate oscillations (Osc-). The interventions did not significantly affect younger adults' hippocampal volume. Among older adults, the two conditions affected volume in the LC-targeted hippocampal ROI differentially as reflected in a significant condition × time-point interaction on ROI volume. These condition differences were driven by opposing changes in the two conditions (increased volume in Osc+ and decreased volume in Osc-) and were mediated by the degree of heart rate oscillation during training sessions.PMID:37769491 | DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.08.010
Source: Neurobiology of Aging - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: research