Characterization of behavioral activation in non-pathological subjects through Heart Rate Variability monovariate and multivariate multiscale entropy analysis

The objective quantification of psychological traits through Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) biomarkers is of large interest for the clinical and bioengineering scientific communities. Standard procedures, in fact, rely only on subjective scores from interviews and questionnaires. Here we show that monovariate and multivariate multiscale entropy measures are able to characterize the dimension regulating the behavior towards something pleasant in subjects. Such a psychological dimension was quantified through the BIS/BAS scores and investigated with a complexity analysis of Heart Rate Variability and respiratory activity. Results gathered from 29 volunteers show a significant decrease of multiscale complexity in subjects with higher behavioral activation score during the resting condition, supporting the significant role of ANS nonlinear dynamics in cognitive regulation processes.