Neural correlates of heart rate variability in PTSD during sub‐ and supraliminal processing of trauma‐related cues

BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by dysregulated arousal and altered cardiac autonomic response as evidenced by decreased high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), an indirect measure of parasympathetic modulation of the heart. Indeed, subtle threatening cues can cause autonomic dysregulation, even without explicit awareness of the triggering stimulus. Accordingly, examining the neural underpinnings …