禪坐組與控制組於呼吸控制和持續專注測試下的心率變異特性研究

Abstract

本研究主要是探討持續專注狀態下、呼吸調控與禪坐調息時的心肺交互作用情形，藉由心率變異度分析(Heart Rate Variability, HRV)來探討交感-副交感活躍的程度與心肺氣體交換的效率。本研究分別使用頻域與時域兩種方法作為評估HRV特性的分析: (1)適應性頻率範圍(Adaptive frequency range, AFR)和 (2)潘凱圖分析(Poincaré Plot Analysis, PPA)。我們同步記錄心電圖和呼吸訊號，受測對象分別為1)呼吸控制組(crol-I)14位、2)自由禪定組(expt-I)10位、3)持續專注控制組(cntl-II)6位、4)持續專注禪坐組(expt-II)6位。以往我們常使用頻域的HRV分析方法來了解自律神經活性的平衡狀態，文獻上較少使用時域的方法來探討。在本研究中我們比較了AFR與PPA兩種方法，由結果發現，AFR方法中代表副交感神經指標的參數HFa與潘凱圖中的參數SD1呈現正相關性，因此我們可以假設潘凱圖也能作為評估交感-副交感平衡的方法。在持續專注實驗中，初步結果顯示，控制組在休息階段時心率及呼吸率明顯較專注階段低，HFa及SD1則較高，代表副交感神經活性指標升高。由於冥想能協調身體不同器官的運作，禪坐練習者在專注情況下仍能維持放鬆狀態。

This thesis reports the results of our study on cardiorespiratory interactions for four groups of volunteers: (cntl-I) normal subjects under breathing control, (cntl-II) normal subjects in continuous attention test (CAT), (expt-I) Chan-meditation practitioners during Chan meditation, and (expt-II) practitioners in CAT. Quantification of HRV (heart rate variability) was employed to evaluate the regulation of sympathetic-parasympathetic activity and to investigate the efficiency of pulmonary gas exchange. In this study, two methods were developed to analyze the HRV activity: (1) adaptive frequency range (AFR) and (2) Poincaré plot analysis (PPA). ECG (electrocardiograph) and respiratory signals were recorded from four groups mentioned above. In convention, frequency-domain schemes of HRV analysis are often adopted to quantify the efficacy of autonomic nervous system (ANS). On the other hand, time-domain schemes are seldom used in the study of HRV. AFR method and PPA were compared in the thesis. Our preliminary study shows that the high-frequency parameter of AFR (HFa), the marker of parasympathetic activity, exhibits positive relation with the SD1 (the standard deviation of the widths on the distribution of Poincaré plot). Preliminary results show that, in the resting state, the heart rate and respiratory rate of cntl-II volunteers become lower and HFa and SD1 become higher when compared with the results in CAT. It indicates the increase of parasympathetic activity. Since Chan meditation can help harmonizing the operation of different organ systems in the body, heart rate and respiratory rate might be maintained at a stable level.