Journal of Psychopharmacology

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

SAGETRACK

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Middleton, H.C.
Right arrow Articles by Robbins, T.W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Middleton, H.C.
Right arrow Articles by Robbins, T.W.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1-7 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/026988119400800101

Clonidine-induced changes in the spectral distribution of heart rate variability correlate with performance on a test of sustained attention

H.C. Middleton

University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Rd., Cambridge CB2 2QQ

J.T. Coull

University of Cambridge Department of Experimental Psychology, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK

B.J. Sahakian

University of Cambridge Department of Experimental Psychology, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK

T.W. Robbins

University of Cambridge Department of Experimental Psychology, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK

Conventional measures of cardiovascular activity correlate poorly with psychological variables and therefore provide imperfect physiological indices of arousal. We have investigated the effects of clonidine upon the spectral distribution of heart rate variability and upon performance on a test of sustained attention. Our findings suggest that activity of the central noradrenergic system influences the distribution of heart rate variability in the ~ 0.1 Hz range. Furthermore, the finding of a strong correlation between the effects of clonidine upon each of these variables supports the use of spectral analysis of heart rate variability in the study of arousal.

Key Words: clonidine • heart rate • variability • spectral analysis


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?