Embodimetrics: A Principal Component Analysis Study of the Combined Assessment of Cardiac, Cognitive and Mobility Parameters

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature investigating the relationship between the frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) and cognitive Stroop task performance. We proposed a combined assessment integrating trunk mobility in 72 healthy women to investigate the relationship between cognitive, cardiac, and motor variables using principal component analysis (PCA). Additionally, we assessed changes in the relationships among these variables after a two-month intervention aimed at improving the perception–action link. At baseline, PCA correctly identified three components: one related to cardiac variables, one to trunk motion, and one to Stroop task performance. After the intervention, only two components were found, with trunk symmetry and range of motion, accuracy, time to complete the Stroop task, and low-frequency heart rate variability aggregated into a single component using PCA. Artificial neural network analysis confirmed the effects of both HRV and motor behavior on cognitive Stroop task performance. This analysis suggested that this protocol was effective in investigating embodied cognition, and we defined this approach as “embodimetrics”.