A preliminary study on parasympathetic-sympathetic interaction through the analysis of heart rate variability and electrodermal activity

In this preliminary study, we propose to investigate the interaction between the parasympathetic (PNS) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) during an isometric handgrip task. SNS and PNS directed coupling was estimated by applying a time-varying bivariate autoregressive model to spectral features extracted from the heart rate variability and the electrodermal activity signals. Significant changes in the PNS-SNS interactions were observed in both directions and between rest and handgrip conditions.