Effect of expressive and neutral writing on respiratory sinus arrhythmia response over time.

Background And Objectives: Parasympathetic activity, as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), underlies key aspects of emotional and cognitive self-regulation. Examining time-varying RSA response during expressive writing about trauma may help inform theory about mechanisms of this intervention. The present study investigated changes in RSA during expressive writing.

Enhancing the benefits of written emotional disclosure through response training.

Writing about a personal stressful event has been found to have psychological and physical health benefits, especially when physiological response increases during writing. Response training was developed to amplify appropriate physiological reactivity in imagery exposure. The present study examined whether response training enhances the benefits of written emotional disclosure.