{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132707"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132707","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Investigating the protective role of heart rate variability on the effects of aging on cerebrovascular function as estimated by optical pulse parameters","abstract":"Brain health (or lack thereof) has been linked to both long-term phenomena, such as arterial stiffening, and the cumulated effects of short-term phenomena, such as resting-state heart rate variability (rsHRV). rsHRV reflects the balance between parasympathetic (vagal) and sympathetic input to the heart and is often altered in aging because of a reduced vagal role resulting in reduced cerebrovascular reactivity and, indirectly, brain tissue damage. Here we investigate these relationships using a novel approach to studying cerebrovascular reactivity based on single-trial measures of the cerebral arterial pulse measured with diffuse optical tomography (pulse-DOT) following long and short inter-beat intervals (IBIs). Data were obtained from a sample of 141 normal individuals (age range 25-75 years), in which both EKG and pulse-DOT (measured from the entire cortical mantle) were recorded for 8-10 minutes during resting-state conditions. Results indicate that pulse-DOT parameters were significantly affected by long-term factors such as age and fitness, but also, albeit to a much smaller extent, by short-term phenomena, such as the duration of the previous IBI. rsHRV mediates some of the negative effects of age on vascular function, suggesting a protective effect of the vagal system on the cerebrovasculature. However, not all indices of cerebrovascular function where moderated by rsHRV, perhaps suggesting the possible presence of other types of age effects on the brain’s vasculature. These findings can improve our understanding of how rsHRV helps protect the brain from the negative effects of aging.","abstract_html":"Brain health (or lack thereof) has been linked to both long-term phenomena, such as arterial stiffening, and the cumulated effects of short-term phenomena, such as resting-state heart rate variability (rsHRV). rsHRV reflects the balance between parasympathetic (vagal) and sympathetic input to the heart and is often altered in aging because of a reduced vagal role resulting in reduced cerebrovascular reactivity and, indirectly, brain tissue damage. Here we investigate these relationships using a novel approach to studying cerebrovascular reactivity based on single-trial measures of the cerebral arterial pulse measured with diffuse optical tomography (pulse-DOT) following long and short inter-beat intervals (IBIs). Data were obtained from a sample of 141 normal individuals (age range 25-75 years), in which both EKG and pulse-DOT (measured from the entire cortical mantle) were recorded for 8-10 minutes during resting-state conditions. Results indicate that pulse-DOT parameters were significantly affected by long-term factors such as age and fitness, but also, albeit to a much smaller extent, by short-term phenomena, such as the duration of the previous IBI. rsHRV mediates some of the negative effects of age on vascular function, suggesting a protective effect of the vagal system on the cerebrovasculature. However, not all indices of cerebrovascular function where moderated by rsHRV, perhaps suggesting the possible presence of other types of age effects on the brain’s vasculature. These findings can improve our understanding of how rsHRV helps protect the brain from the negative effects of aging.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Islam, Samia S"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Fabiani, Monica","Gratton, Gabriele"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12","date_published":"2025-12","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:07Z","subjects":["diffuse optical tomography (DOT)","pulse-DOT","reactivity","heart rate variability (HRV)","within-individual differences"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Samia Islam"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132707","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Fabiani, Monica","Gratton, Gabriele"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Islam, Samia S"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-12","2025-12-10"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["diffuse optical tomography (DOT)","pulse-DOT","reactivity","heart rate variability (HRV)","within-individual differences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Samia Islam"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132707"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Brain health (or lack thereof) has been linked to both long-term phenomena, such as arterial stiffening, and the cumulated effects of short-term phenomena, such as resting-state heart rate variability (rsHRV). rsHRV reflects the balance between parasympathetic (vagal) and sympathetic input to the heart and is often altered in aging because of a reduced vagal role resulting in reduced cerebrovascular reactivity and, indirectly, brain tissue damage. Here we investigate these relationships using a novel approach to studying cerebrovascular reactivity based on single-trial measures of the cerebral arterial pulse measured with diffuse optical tomography (pulse-DOT) following long and short inter-beat intervals (IBIs). Data were obtained from a sample of 141 normal individuals (age range 25-75 years), in which both EKG and pulse-DOT (measured from the entire cortical mantle) were recorded for 8-10 minutes during resting-state conditions. Results indicate that pulse-DOT parameters were significantly affected by long-term factors such as age and fitness, but also, albeit to a much smaller extent, by short-term phenomena, such as the duration of the previous IBI. rsHRV mediates some of the negative effects of age on vascular function, suggesting a protective effect of the vagal system on the cerebrovasculature. However, not all indices of cerebrovascular function where moderated by rsHRV, perhaps suggesting the possible presence of other types of age effects on the brain’s vasculature. These findings can improve our understanding of how rsHRV helps protect the brain from the negative effects of aging.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-12-01","The student, Samia Islam, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-10 at 13:28.","The student, Samia Islam, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-12-10 at 13:32.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-12-10 at 19:03.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23125 on 2026-02-19 at 18:46:55"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Investigating the protective role of heart rate variability on the effects of aging on cerebrovascular function as estimated by optical pulse parameters"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Fabiani, Monica","Gratton, Gabriele"],"dc:creator":["Islam, Samia S"],"dc:date":["2025-12","2025-12-10"],"dc:description":["Brain health (or lack thereof) has been linked to both long-term phenomena, such as arterial stiffening, and the cumulated effects of short-term phenomena, such as resting-state heart rate variability (rsHRV). rsHRV reflects the balance between parasympathetic (vagal) and sympathetic input to the heart and is often altered in aging because of a reduced vagal role resulting in reduced cerebrovascular reactivity and, indirectly, brain tissue damage. Here we investigate these relationships using a novel approach to studying cerebrovascular reactivity based on single-trial measures of the cerebral arterial pulse measured with diffuse optical tomography (pulse-DOT) following long and short inter-beat intervals (IBIs). Data were obtained from a sample of 141 normal individuals (age range 25-75 years), in which both EKG and pulse-DOT (measured from the entire cortical mantle) were recorded for 8-10 minutes during resting-state conditions. Results indicate that pulse-DOT parameters were significantly affected by long-term factors such as age and fitness, but also, albeit to a much smaller extent, by short-term phenomena, such as the duration of the previous IBI. rsHRV mediates some of the negative effects of age on vascular function, suggesting a protective effect of the vagal system on the cerebrovasculature. However, not all indices of cerebrovascular function where moderated by rsHRV, perhaps suggesting the possible presence of other types of age effects on the brain’s vasculature. These findings can improve our understanding of how rsHRV helps protect the brain from the negative effects of aging.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-12-01","The student, Samia Islam, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-10 at 13:28.","The student, Samia Islam, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-12-10 at 13:32.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-12-10 at 19:03.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23125 on 2026-02-19 at 18:46:55"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132707"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Samia Islam"],"dc:subject":["diffuse optical tomography (DOT)","pulse-DOT","reactivity","heart rate variability (HRV)","within-individual differences"],"dc:title":["Investigating the protective role of heart rate variability on the effects of aging on cerebrovascular function as estimated by optical pulse parameters"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:07Z"}