Table 3.

HRV metrics analyzed in the included studies

HRV measure Description Physiological significance

SDNN The standard deviation of NN intervals Represents the global autonomic function of the
heart, reflecting joint sympathetic and
parasympathetic modulation of heart rate
RMSSD The square root of the mean of the sum of the squares Represents predominantly parasympathetic
of differences between adjacent NN interval modulation of heart rate
pNN50 The proportion of consecutive NN intervals that differ Represents short-term changes in heart rate
by more than 50 ms variability, reflecting the rapid alterations
characteristic of the parasympathetic nervous system
pNN20 The proportion of consecutive NN intervals that differ Represents short-term changes in heart rate
by more than 20 ms variability, reflecting the rapid alterations
characteristic of the parasympathetic nervous system
HF High-frequency power (0.15–0.4 Hz) Reflects respiratory sinus arrhythmia, mediated by

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changes in vagal tone. A decrease in HF is associated
with vagal withdrawal
HFn High-frequency power (0.15–0.4 Hz), normalized to HF Often interpreted as a marker of sympathovagal
and LF power balance, where an increase is viewed as vagal
predominance, note that HFn+LFn = 1
LF Low-frequency power (0.04–0.15 Hz) Reflects a mix of the sympathetic and vagal
influences on heart rate variability
LFn Low-frequency power (0.04–0.15 Hz), normalized to HF Often interpreted as a marker of sympathovagal
and LF power balance, where an increase is viewed as sympathetic
predominance, note that HFn+LFn = 1
VLF Very low-frequency power (0.0033–0.04 Hz) Represent long-term regulation mechanisms,
thermoregulation, and hormonal mechanisms
LF/HF Frequency-domain ratio between LF and HF power Conceptualized as a global index of sympathovagal
balance, but controversial
SD1, SD2 SD1 and SD2 can be derived from Poincaré plots that SD1 is strongly influenced by parasympathetic
plot RR intervals against the succeeding RR intervals or, activity, and SD2 reflects overall variability
mathematically RMSSD and SDNN.
D2 The correlation dimension (D2) gives information on The interpretation of D2 is challenging
the complexity of HRV.
α1 and α2 Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) measures short- α1 is modulated by sympathetic activity [51]
and long-range correlations
APEn, SampEn ApEn and SampEn measure the randomness Lower values suggest a reduced HRV complexity
(i.e., unpredictability) and irregularity of the NN interval
series
SpeEn SpeEn is a measure of the randomness Lower values suggest a reduced HRV complexity
(i.e., unpredictability) and irregularity of the power
density spectrum
LLE The largest Lyapunov exponent quantifies the HRV of sinus rhythm has characteristics of chaos-like
trajectory of a nonlinear dynamic system. LLE >0 determinism, which reflects in a positive Lyapunov
indicates a chaotic system exponent, and changes in LLE are believed to be
associated with parasympathetic activation

HRV in Evaluating Psychological Stress Neuropsychobiology 2023;82:187–202 197

DOI: 10.1159/000530376