Brain-heart interactions in the neurobiology of consciousness
Current Research in Neurobiology August 1, 2022 D. Candia-Rivera
A review of theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that brain-heart interactions play a role in consciousness, emotion, and cognition. Research in patients with disorders of consciousness shows that observing these interactions can detect residual consciousness even without behavioral signs. Studies in healthy participants indicate that neural responses to heartbeats relate to perception and self-consciousness, and mathematical modeling of physiological dynamics reveals that emotion processing begins with ascending vagal inputs to the brain, followed by sustained bidirectional brain-heart interactions. The author advocates for methodological advances in estimating brain-heart interactions to better understand their role in the origin, levels, and contents of consciousness, highlighting potential non-linear, complex communication between brain and heartbeat dynamics.