chapter 1

Ackermann, S.P., Laborde, S., Borges, U., & Mosley, E. (2021). Commentary: Photoplethysmography for quantitative assessment of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) during cold stress. Frontiers in Physiology, 12, 602745. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.602745

Ackermann, S.P., Raab, M., Backschat, S., Smith, D.J.C., Javelle, F., & Laborde, S. (2023). The diving response and cardiac vagal activity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychophysiology, 60(3), e14183. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14183

Addleman, J.S., Lackey, N.S., Tobin, M.A., Lara, G.A., Sinha, S., Morse, R.M., Hajduczok, A.G., Gharbo, R.S., & Gevirtz, R.N. (2025). Heart rate variability applications in medical specialties: A narrative review. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 50(3), 359-381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-025-09708-y

Albinet, C.T., De Faria, C., & Causse, M. (2024). Cardiac pre-ejection period to index motivation and effort mobilization in cognitive studies. Journal of Psychophysiology, 38(2), 81-101. https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000332

Alfonso, C., Haydt, V., Allen, M.S., Capdevila, L., & Laborde, S. (2025). Monitoring training adaptation: A scoping review of the relationship between self-reported subjective variables and resting vagally-mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) in adult athletes. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2025.2541350

Baumann, N., & Turpin, J.C. (2010). Neurochemistry of stress: An overview. Neurochemical Research, 35(12), 1875-1879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-010-0298-9

Bellenger, C.R., Fuller, J.T., Thomson, R.L., Davison, K., Robertson, E.Y., & Buckley, J.D. (2016). Monitoring athletic training status through autonomic heart rate regulation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 46(10), 1461-1486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0484-2

Benarroch, E.E. (1993). The central autonomic network: Functional organization, dysfunction, and perspective. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 68(10), 988-1001.

Benevides, T.W., & Lane, S.J. (2015). A review of cardiac autonomic measures: Considerations for examination of physiological response in children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(2), 560-575. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1971-z

Berntson, G.G., Bigger, J.T., Jr., Eckberg, D.L., Grossman, P., Kaufmann, P.G., Malik, M., Nagaraja, H.N., Porges, S.W., Saul, J.P., Stone, P.H., & van der Molen, M.W. (1997). Heart rate variability: Origins, methods, and interpretive caveats. Psychophysiology, 34(6), 623-648. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02140.x

Berntson, G.G., Cacioppo, J.T., & Quigley, K.S. (1991). Autonomic determinism: The modes of autonomic control, the doctrine of autonomic space, and the laws of autonomic constraint. Psychological Review, 98(4), 459-487.

Berthoud, H.R., & Neuhuber, W.L. (2000). Functional and chemical anatomy of the afferent vagal system. Autonomic Neuroscience, 85(1-3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1566-0702(00)00215-0

Billman, G.E. (2013). The LF/HF ratio does not accurately measure cardiac sympatho-vagal balance. Frontiers in Physiology, 4, 26. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00026

Brodal, P. (2016). The central nervous system: Structure and function (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Buchheit, M. (2014). Monitoring training status with HR measures: Do all roads lead to Rome? Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 73. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00073

Cannon, W.B. (1929). Organization for physiological homeostasis. Physiological Reviews, 9(3), 399-431. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.1929.9.3.399

Carrasco, G.A., & Van de Kar, L.D. (2003). Neuroendocrine pharmacology of stress. European Journal of Pharmacology, 463(1-3), 235-272. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0014-2999(03)01285-8

Charmandari, E., Tsigos, C., & Chrousos, G. (2005). Endocrinology of the stress response. Annual Review of Physiology, 67, 259-284. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.physiol.67.040403.120816

Ciccone, A.B., Siedlik, J.A., Wecht, J.M., Deckert, J.A., Nguyen, N.D., & Weir, J.P. (2017). Reminder: RMSSD and SD1 are identical heart rate variability metrics. Muscle Nerve, 56(4), 674-678. https://doi.org/10.1002/mus.25573

Doherty, C., Baldwin, M., Lambe, R., Burke, D., & Altini, M. (2025). Readiness, recovery, and strain: An evaluation of composite health scores in consumer wearables. Translational Exercise Biomedicine, 2(2), 128-144. https://doi.org/10.1515/teb-2025-0001

Eckberg, D.L. (1983). Human sinus arrhythmia as an index of vagal cardiac outflow. Journal of Applied Physiology, 54(4), 961-966.

Farmer, D.G., Dutschmann, M., Paton, J.F., Pickering, A.E., & McAllen, R.M. (2016). Brainstem sources of cardiac vagal tone and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The Journal of Physiology, 594(24), 7249-7265. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP273164

Fatisson, J., Oswald, V., & Lalonde, F. (2016). Influence diagram of physiological and environmental factors affecting heart rate variability: An extended literature overview. Heart International, 11(1), e32-e40. https://doi.org/10.5301/heartint.5000232

Furness, J.B. (2012). The enteric nervous system and neurogastroenterology. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, 9(5), 286-294. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2012.32

Goldstein, D.S., Bentho, O., Park, M.Y., & Sharabi, Y. (2011). LF power of heart rate variability is not a measure of cardiac sympathetic tone but may be a measure of modulation of cardiac autonomic outflows by baroreflexes. Experimental Physiology, 96(12), 1255-1261. https://doi.org/10.1113/expphysiol.2010.056259

Gordan, R., Gwathmey, J.K., & Xie, L.H. (2015). Autonomic and endocrine control of cardiovascular function. World Journal of Cardiology, 7(4), 204-214. https://doi.org/10.4330/wjc.v7.i4.204

Grossman, P. (2023). Fundamental challenges and likely refutations of the five basic premises of the polyvagal theory. Biological Psychology, 180, 108589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108589

Grossman, P. (2024). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), vagal tone and biobehavioral integration: Beyond parasympathetic function. Biological Psychology, 186, 108739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108739

Grossman, P., Ackland, G.L., Allen, A.M., Berntson, G.G., Booth, L.C., Burghardt, G.M., Buron, J., Dinets, V., Doody, J.S., Dutschmann, M., Farmer, D.G.S., Fisher, J.P., Gourine, A.V., Joyner, M.J., Karemaker, J.M., Khalsa, S.S., Lakatta, E.G., Leite, C.A.C., Macefield, V. G.,…Zucker, I.H. (2026). Why the polyvagal theory is untenable: An international expert evaluation of the polyvagal theory and commentary upon Porges, S.W. (2025). Polyvagal theory: current status, clinical applications, and future directions. Clin. Neuropsychiatry, 22(3), 169-184. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 23(1), 100-112. https://doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20260110

Guidi, J., Lucente, M., Sonino, N., & Fava, G.A. (2021). Allostatic load and its impact on health: A systematic review. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 90(1), 11-27. https://doi.org/10.1159/000510696

Harris, B.N. (2020). Stress hypothesis overload: 131 hypotheses exploring the role of stress in tradeoffs, transitions, and health. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 288, 113355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.113355

Heathers, J.A. (2012). Sympathovagal balance from heart rate variability: An obituary. Experimental Physiology, 97, 556.

Hoff, H.H., Guillemin, L., & Guillemin, R. (1967). The cahier rouge of Claude Bernard. In F. Grande & M.B. Visscher (Eds.), Claude Bernard and experimental medicine. Schenkman.

Hottenrott, L., Ketelhut, S., & Hottenrott, K. (2019). Commentary: Vagal tank theory: The three Rs of cardiac vagal control functioning—resting, reactivity, and recovery. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 1300. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.01300

Houle, M.S., & Billman, G.E. (1999). Low-frequency component of the heart rate variability spectrum: A poor marker of sympathetic activity. American Journal of Physiology, 276(1), H215-H223. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.1999.276.1.H215

Jose, A.D., & Collison, D. (1970). The normal range and determinants of the intrinsic heart rate in man. Cardiovascular Research, 4(2), 160-167.

Kirschbaum, C., Kudielka, B.M., Gaab, J., Schommer, N.C., & Hellhammer, D.H. (1999). Impact of gender, menstrual cycle phase, and oral contraceptives on the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61(2), 154-162. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199903000-00006

Kromenacker, B.W., Sanova, A.A., Marcus, F.I., Allen, J.J.B., & Lane, R.D. (2018). Vagal mediation of low-frequency heart rate variability during slow yogic breathing. Psychosomatic Medicine, 80(6), 581-587. https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0000000000000603

Laborde, S. (2019). Commentary: About the logical, theoretical, and physiological differences between the pre-task and post-task measurements of cardiac vagal activity: Commentary on: "A psychophysiological investigation of the interplay between orienting and executive control during stimulus conflict: A heart rate variability study." Physiology & Behavior, 112685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112685

Laborde, S., Allen, M.S., Borges, U., Dosseville, F., Hosang, T.J., Iskra, M., Mosley, E., Salvotti, C., Spolverato, L., Zammit, N., & Javelle, F. (2022). Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 138, 104711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104711

Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Mertgen, A. (2018a). A unifying conceptual framework of factors associated to cardiac vagal control. Heliyon, 4(12), e01002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e01002

Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Mertgen, A. (2018b). Vagal tank theory: The three Rs of cardiac vagal control functioning—Resting, reactivity, and recovery. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 458. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00458

Laborde, S., Mosley, E., & Thayer, J.F. (2017). Heart rate variability and cardiac vagal tone in psychophysiological research: Recommendations for experiment planning, data analysis, and data reporting. Frontiers in Physiology, 8, 213. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00213

Laborde, S., Wanders, J., Mosley, E., & Javelle, F. (2023). Influence of physical post-exercise recovery techniques on vagally-mediated heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpf.12855

Lundstrom, C.J., Foreman, N.A., & Biltz, G. (2023). Practices and applications of heart rate variability monitoring in endurance athletes. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1864-9726

Maki, K.A., Goodyke, M.P., Rasmussen, K., & Bronas, U.G. (2024). An integrative literature review of heart rate variability measures to determine autonomic nervous system responsiveness using pharmacological manipulation. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 39(1), 58-78. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCN.0000000000001001

Malik, M. (1996). Heart rate variability. Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. European Heart Journal, 17, 354-381.

Menuet, C., Ben-Tal, A., Linossier, A., Allen, A.M., Machado, B.H., Moraes, D.J.A., Farmer, D.G.S., Paterson, D.J., Mendelowitz, D., Lakatta, E.G., Taylor, E.W., Ackland, G.L., Zucker, I.H., Fisher, J.P., Schwaber, J.S., Shanks, J., Paton, J.F.R., Buron, J., Spyer, K.M., . . . Gourine, A.V. (2025). Redefining respiratory sinus arrhythmia as respiratory heart rate variability: An international expert recommendation for terminological clarity. Nature Reviews Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-025-01160-z

O'Connor, D.B., Thayer, J.F., & Vedhara, K. (2021). Stress and health: A review of psychobiological processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 72, 663-688. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-062520-122331

Penttila, J., Helminen, A., Jartti, T., Kuusela, T., Huikuri, H.V., Tulppo, M.P., Coffeng, R., & Scheinin, H. (2001). Time domain, geometrical and frequency domain analysis of cardiac vagal outflow: Effects of various respiratory patterns. Clinical Physiology, 21(3), 365-376.

Porges, S.W. (2021). Polyvagal theory: A biobehavioral journey to sociality. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 7, 100069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100069

Quigley, K.S., Gianaros, P.J., Norman, G.J., Jennings, J.R., Berntson, G.G., & de Geus, E.J.C. (2024). Publication guidelines for human heart rate and heart rate variability studies in psychophysiology—Part 1: Physiological underpinnings and foundations of measurement. Psychophysiology, e14604. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14604

Reyes del Paso, G.A., Langewitz, W., Mulder, L.J., van Roon, A., & Duschek, S. (2013). The utility of low frequency heart rate variability as an index of sympathetic cardiac tone: A review with emphasis on a reanalysis of previous studies. Psychophysiology, 50(5), 477-487. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12027

Roddick, C.M., Seo, Y.S., Barkovich, S.L., Forrester, L., & Chen, F.S. (2025). Cardiac vagal recovery following acute psychological stress in human adults: A scoping review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 176, 106268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106268

Sassi, R., Cerutti, S., Lombardi, F., Malik, M., Huikuri, H.V., Peng, C.K., Schmidt, G., Yamamoto, Y., Document Reviewers: Gorenek, B., Lip, G.Y.H., Grassi, G., Kudaiberdieva, G., Fisher, J.P., Zabel, M., & Macfadyen, R. (2015). Advances in heart rate variability signal analysis: Joint position statement by the e-Cardiology ESC Working Group and the European Heart Rhythm Association co-endorsed by the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society. Europace, 17(9), 1341-1353. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euv015

Saul, J.P. (1990). Beat-to-beat variations of heart rate reflect modulation of cardiac autonomic outflow. Physiology, 5(1), 32-37. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiologyonline.1990.5.1.32

Schlagintweit, J., Laharnar, N., Glos, M., Zemann, M., Demin, A.V., Lederer, K., Penzel, T., & Fietze, I. (2023). Effects of sleep fragmentation and partial sleep restriction on heart rate variability during night. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 6202. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33013-5

Sevoz-Couche, C., & Laborde, S. (2022). Heart rate variability and slow-paced breathing: When coherence meets resonance. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 135, 104576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104576

Shaffer, F., McCraty, R., & Zerr, C.L. (2014). A healthy heart is not a metronome: An integrative review of the heart's anatomy and heart rate variability. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1040. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01040

Sherwood, A., Allen, M.T., Fahrenberg, J., Kelsey, R.M., Lovallo, W.R., & van Doornen, L.J. (1990). Methodological guidelines for impedance cardiography. Psychophysiology, 27(1), 1-23.

Siepe, B.S., Tutunji, R., Rieble, C.L., Proppert, R.K.K., & Fried, E.I. (2025). Associations between ecological momentary assessment and passive sensor data in a large student sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0001013

Smith, R., Thayer, J.F., Khalsa, S.S., & Lane, R.D. (2017). The hierarchical basis of neurovisceral integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 75, 274-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.003

Stanley, J., Peake, J.M., & Buchheit, M. (2013). Cardiac parasympathetic reactivation following exercise: Implications for training prescription. Sports Medicine, 43(12), 1259-1277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0083-4

Tarvainen, M.P., Niskanen, J.P., Lipponen, J.A., Ranta-Aho, P.O., & Karjalainen, P.A. (2014). Kubios HRV: Heart rate variability analysis software. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 113(1), 210-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2013.07.024

Taylor, J.A., Myers, C.W., Halliwill, J.R., Seidel, H., & Eckberg, D.L. (2001). Sympathetic restraint of respiratory sinus arrhythmia: Implications for vagal-cardiac tone assessment in humans. American Journal of Physiology—Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 280(6), H2804-H2814. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.2001.280.6.H2804

Thayer, J.F., Hansen, A.L., Saus-Rose, E., & Johnsen, B.H. (2009). Heart rate variability, prefrontal neural function, and cognitive performance: The neurovisceral integration perspective on self-regulation, adaptation, and health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 141-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9101-z

Thayer, J.F., & Lane, R.D. (2009). Claude Bernard and the heart-brain connection: Further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 81-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004

Ulrich-Lai, Y.M., & Herman, J.P. (2009). Neural regulation of endocrine and autonomic stress responses. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2647

Young, H.A., & Benton, D. (2018). Heart-rate variability: A biomarker to study the influence of nutrition on physiological and psychological health? Behavioral Pharmacology, 29(2 and 3), 140-151. https://doi.org/10.1097/FBP.0000000000000383

Zhang, S., Niu, X., Ma, J., Wei, X., Zhang, J., & Du, W. (2025). Effects of sleep deprivation on heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Neurology, 16, 1556784. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2025.1556784