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Blood volume pulse (BVP) derived vagal tone (VT) between 5 and 7 years of age: A methodological investigation of measurement and longitudinal stability
Author(s) -
Heathers James A. J.,
Fink Elian,
Kuhnert RebeccaLee,
de Rosnay Marc
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21088
Subject(s) - vagal tone , tone (literature) , audiology , photoplethysmogram , pulse (music) , psychology , longitudinal study , stability (learning theory) , volume (thermodynamics) , heart rate , developmental psychology , blood pressure , heart rate variability , cardiology , medicine , mathematics , statistics , art , filter (signal processing) , literature , detector , computer science , engineering , quantum mechanics , machine learning , computer vision , physics , electrical engineering
The present study evaluated the possibility of collecting cardiac vagal tone data using a photoplethysmograph, and its stability and continuity in a longitudinal sample of early‐school aged children. A method for the optical (i.e., blood volume pulse) estimation of heart rate was established in a pilot study. Then the longitudinal stability and continuity in photoplethysmograph‐derived vagal tone was assessed in 114 children (56 girls) at three sessions between 5 and 7 years of age. Results indicate that this method possesses substantial measurement reliability and individual stability, as children report low intra‐individual variation over time. Children also report a mean decrease in vagal tone from 5 to 7 years of age, consistent with increased attentional capacity. Overall, this suggests blood volume pulse estimation of vagal tone is both accurate and appropriate for naturalistic developmental research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 56: 23–35, 2014.