# Robust Characterization of Brain-Heart Coupling Across Development and Modulations by Disordered Sleep

> **NIH NIH R21** · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2022 · $132,750

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Balanced communication between the brain and heart is critical to both cardiovascular and cognitive health.
Although the anatomical pathways facilitating this communication have been well characterized, the
electrodynamic coupling between the two systems remains elusive, particularly during development. A
distributed network of brain structures that regulates cardiac function undergoes profound changes and
reorganization during the first two decades of life. The impact of these anatomical changes and postnatal heart
maturation on cerebro-cardiovascular coupling is poorly understood. Yet, this is a fundamental mechanism
that, if impaired, may lead to significant deficits in both systems. At the macroscale of the intact human brain
and heart, simultaneously acquired electrophysiological data may provide transformative new insights into both
electrodynamic system coupling and its modulation by disorders and stressors. To date, the adverse effects of
such stressors, particularly unhealthy sleep associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a disorder that
affects up to 10% of children in the US, on this electrodynamic coupling during wakefulness and sleep remain
poorly understood. This project aims to significantly improve the field’s knowledge through two potentially
transformative contributions. Aim 1 will develop a blueprint of normal electrodynamic interaction between the
developing brain and heart, during wakefulness and sleep, by leveraging the large volume of existing data from
clinical physiological studies (which include both EEG and ECG) from patients with no evidence of underlying
disease. A total of n ~= 1400 patients, with simultaneous EEG and ECG, spanning in age infancy to young
adulthood will be analyzed using cutting-edge signal and machine learning tools and models, to establish a
typical developmental trajectory of the electrodynamic interaction between the brain and heart. Aim 2 will use
this blueprint to systematically investigate the adverse impact of disordered sleep on cerebro-cardiovascular
coupling in 453 children with OSA (ages 5-10 years) and ~400 children with snoring (who did not meet criteria
for OSA), using publicly available polysomnography data from the Childhood Adenotonsillectomy Trial (CHAT).
Dynamic EEG-ECG interactions at baseline and follow up will be compared to normal system coupling in the
same age range, estimated in Aim 1. Deviations from normative coupling will be investigated as a function of
cognitive outcomes. Clinical physiology/polysomnography studies contain a wealth of valuable information but
remain severely underutilized. This project will leverage these Big Data to robustly characterize a fundamental
yet currently elusive mechanism that may affect both cognitive and cardiovascular health across the lifespan.
In addition, the establishment of a normative developmental trajectory of cerebro-cardiovascular coupling may
become a significant research resource for future studies. Findings ma...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10443869
- **Project number:** 5R21HL156186-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Catherine Stamoulis
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $132,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-05 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10443869

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10443869, Robust Characterization of Brain-Heart Coupling Across Development and Modulations by Disordered Sleep (5R21HL156186-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10443869. Licensed CC0.

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