Investigating the Heartbeat-evoked cortical responses through parametric Time-Varying Information Measures

Abstract

Recent studies showed that the information coming from the heart is constantly processed by the brain. One index to study this process is the heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP), represented by an event-related potential component related to the cortical processing of the heartbeat. In this study we propose an approach to investigate the heartbeat-evoked EEG responses, based on quantifying the changes induced by the heartbeat on the predictability of the brain dynamics. The regularity of EEG signals is assessed through the Information Storage (IS) computed with a time-varying approach able to derive the temporal profile of the measure for each time point. Results show a modulation in the regularity of EEG signals induced by the heartbeat that can be revealed with the proposed approach in a group of healthy subjects during a resting state.