The Coherent Heart: Heart-Brain Interactions, Psychophysiological Coherence, and the Emergence of System-Wide Order

By R. McCraty, Ph.D., M. Atkinson, D. Tomasino, B.A., and R. Trevor Bradley, Ph.D.

Heart-Brain Interactions
The Coherent Heart provides an in-depth discussion of heart-brain interactions and the role of the heart in organizing systemwide coherence. Includes: Theoretical Considerations, Psychophysiological Networks, Benefits of Psychophysiological Coherence and its Measurement, A Typology of Psychophysiological States, how vagal afferent traffic inhibits pain perception and affects cognitive performance, difference between respiration and positive, emotion-driven coherence and the heart's roles in emotional experience and processing.

Intended primarily for researchers, medical professionals, students of psychophysiology and related fields and laypeople who desire a deeper understanding of HeartMath's research.

Heart’s Role in Emotions

The Appreciative Heart provides a concise overview of the physiological correlates of positive emotions and the scientific underpinnings of two core HeartMath techniques that help empower Heart-Based Living. The heart's association with positive emotions, wisdom and intelligence is central to most cultures. New empirical research is providing scientific validation for this age-old association. This scientific monograph provides the steps and applications of two HeartMath techniques, Freeze-Frame® and Heart Lock-In®, which engage the heart to transform stress and sustained states of coherence. Data from outcome studies suggest that these techniques facilitate a beneficial repatterning process at the mental, emotional, and physiological levels.  More info »

Heart's Electromagnetic Field

This fascinating monograph, The Energetic Heart explains the bioelectromagnetic interactions within and between people. Did you know that our physiological systems are interacting in subtle ways and the electromagnetic signal produced by your heart is registered in the brain waves of people around you? Discover why the heart's electromagnetic field is believed to act as a central synchronizing signal within the body, an important carrier of emotional information and a key mediator of energetic interactions between people. Learn more about IHM’s new research on bioelectromagnetic interactions and its implications.  More info »

The Heart Brain

In this technical monograph, Dr. Armour discusses the hearts intrinsic nervous system or "heart brain." Dr. Armour describes the anatomical organization and function of the intrinsic cardiac nervous system its complex neuronal processing and memory capabilities indicating that the heart brain can process information and make decisions about its control independent of the central nervous system. This monograph contributes to the newly emerging view of the heart as a complex, self-organized system that maintains a continuous two-way dialogue with the brain and the rest of the body.

This is a technical monograph written primarily for medical professionals, students, and researchers with a background in cardiology, neuroanatomy or neurophysiology.  More info »

The Making of Emotions

Heart-Brain Neurodynamics explores recent scientific advances that clarify a number of central controversies in the understanding of emotion, including the relationship between intellect and emotion. A discussion of the critical role of ascending input from the heart and body to the brain in the generation of emotions culminates in a detailed presentation of a new model of emotion in which the brain functions as a complex pattern-matching system. From this perspective it is shown that the heart is a key component of the emotional system, providing a physiological basis for the link between the heart and our emotional life.  More info »

The Science Behind the HeartMath System

This insightful comprehensive monograph provides fundamental and detailed summaries of the Institute of HeartMath’s years of innovative research. It provides a brief overview of heart rate variability, entrainment, coherence, head-heart interactions, the scientific discoveries that shaped the tools and techniques developed to empower heart-based living. It provides summary reports of the research conducted in a variety of fields, such as business, education, health and music. Charts, diagrams and full explanations are presented in a form that is both easy for the layperson and complete for the science professional.  More info »

This 372-page e-Book is a comprehensive report titled— Reducing Test Anxiety and Improving Test Performance in America’s Schools: Results from the TestEdge National Demonstration Study which was conducted by the Institute of HeartMath in collaboration with Claremont Graduate University. The study’s primary purpose was investigating the efficacy of the TestEdge and Resilient Educator programs in reducing stress and test anxiety and improving emotional well-being, quality of relationships and academic performance in public schools and students. Overall, the evidence from this rich combination of physiological, quantitative and qualitative data indicates that among other successes TestEdge produced substantial physiological, psychological, academic and social benefits for the participants.


This research study report is intended primarily for researchers, education professionals, government policy makers and others in related fields, as well as laypeople, who desire a deeper understanding of HeartMath's educational research.  More info »