Determining the direction of prediction of the association between parasympathetic dysregulation and exhaustion symptoms.

Stress-related exhaustion symptoms have a high prevalence which is only likely to increase further in the near future. Understanding the physiological underpinnings of exhaustion has important implications for accurate diagnosis and the development of effective prevention and intervention programs. Given its integrative role in stress-regulation, the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous systems has been a valid starting point in the exploration of the physiological mechanisms behind exhaustion.

The Longitudinal Association of Reduced Vagal Tone With Burnout.

Objective: Previous research indicates a link between burnout symptoms and reduced vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV); however, the directionality of this relationship is still largely unknown. The objective of the present study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between HRV and burnout symptoms for 1 year, with a special focus on the emotional exhaustion (EE) burnout subdimension, which remains inadequately distinguished from overlapping with depressive symptoms.

Methods: Here we present HRV and behavioral data from 167 individuals (mean [SD] age = 43.

The association of macro- and microstructure of the corpus callosum and language lateralisation.

The present study aimed to examine how differences in functional lateralisation of language are related to interindividual variations in interhemispheric connectivity. Utilising an fMRI silent word-generation paradigm, 89 left- and right-handed subjects were subdivided into four lateralisation subgroups. Applying morphological and diffusion-tensor MRI, midsagittal cross-sectional area as well as quantitative measures of molecular diffusion (anisotropy, mean diffusion) of the corpus callosum were determined to assess interhemispheric connectivity.

Handedness, dichotic-listening ear advantage, and gender effects on planum temporale asymmetry--a volumetric investigation using structural magnetic resonance imaging.

Previous research has often examined whether the asymmetrical structure of the planum temporale (PT) represents an anatomical correlate of lateralized language-processing functions, gathering diverging empirical evidence by comparing PT asymmetry in subjects with differing handedness, gender, or speech lateralization. Apart from other methodological problems, direct comparisons between studies are hampered by insufficient assessment and consideration of all three potential determinants of structural cerebral asymmetry. Based on volumetric assessment of structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of 104 healthy subjects, the present study replicated earlier observations of an overall leftward PT asymmetry, which was found to prevail irrespective of handedness, gender, or dichotic-listening ear advantage.

Effects of handedness and gender on macro- and microstructure of the corpus callosum and its subregions: a combined high-resolution and diffusion-tensor MRI study.

The corpus callosum (CC) represents the major commissural tract connecting the two cerebral hemispheres and is supposed to play crucial integrative role in functional hemispheric specialization. The present study examined whether interindividual variations in macro- and microstructure of the human CC are associated with handedness and gender. Therefore, a combined diffusion-tensor (DTI) and high-resolution morphological MRI study was performed on 34 right- and 33 left-handed subjects of both sexes.

The influence of handedness and gender on the microstructure of the human corpus callosum: a diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging study.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether handedness and gender are associated with microstructural differences in human corpus callosum (CC). For this purpose, diffusion-tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) was performed on 34 right- and 33 left-handed subjects of both sexes. Four quantitative variables (Mean Diffusion, Relative Anisotropy, parallel and orthogonal diffusion) were computed within the CC.