Multidimensional autonomic nervous system profiles relate to psychiatric disturbances, emotion and personality

Linear and nonlinear Estimates of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) activity from Heart Rate variability (HRV) have been separately linked to a number of cardiac, psychiatric and metabolic conditions. We employed unsupervised methods to detect clusters within an HRV-derived ANS profile and relate this structure to a vast array of biological and behavioural variables. We found that HRV profiles are able to stratify individuals by a number of biological (e.g. body mass index, blood pressure, endurance) but also behavioral and psychiatric (depression, anxiety, personality) indicators, hence providing a stepping stone for understanding how ANS activity shapes biological functions as well as human behavior and its possible pathological aberrations.