Breathing and Brain Links

Analysis of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Directed Information Flow between Brain and Body Indicate Different Management Strategies of fMRI-Related Anxiety

Rassler 2023

Abstract: Background: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) denotes decrease of cardiac beat-to-beat
intervals (RRI) during inspiration and RRI increase during expiration, but an inverse pattern (termed
negative RSA) was also found in healthy humans with elevated anxiety. It was detected using waveby-
wave analysis of cardiorespiratory rhythms and was considered to reflect a strategy of anxiety
management involving the activation of a neural pacemaker. Results were consistent with slow
breathing, but contained uncertainty at normal breathing rates (0.2–0.4 Hz). Objectives and methods:
We combined wave-by-wave analysis and directed information flow analysis to obtain information
on anxiety management at higher breathing rates. We analyzed cardiorespiratory rhythms and
blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals from the brainstem and cortex in 10 healthy fMRI
participants with elevated anxiety. Results: Three subjects with slow respiratory, RRI, and neural
BOLD oscillations showed 57 ± 26% negative RSA and significant anxiety reduction by 54 ± 9%.
Six participants with breathing rate of ~0.3 Hz showed 41 ± 16% negative RSA and weaker anxiety
reduction. They presented significant information flow from RRI to respiration and from the middle
frontal cortex to the brainstem, which may result from respiration-entrained brain oscillations,
indicating another anxiety management strategy. Conclusion: The two analytical approaches applied
here indicate at least two different anxiety management strategies in healthy subjects.

The influence of the respiratory cycle on reaction times in sensory‑cognitive paradigms

Johannknecht 2022

Behavioural and electrophysiological studies point to an apparent influence of the state of respiration,
i.e., whether we inhale or exhale, on brain activity and cognitive performance. Still, the prevalence
and relevance of such respiratory-behavioural relations in typical sensory-cognitive tasks remain
unclear. We here used a battery of six tasks probing sensory detection, discrimination and shortterm
memory to address the questions of whether and by how much behaviour covaries with the
respiratory cycle. Our results show that participants tend to align their respiratory cycle to the
experimental paradigm, in that they tend to inhale around stimulus presentation and exhale when
submitting their responses. Furthermore, their reaction times, but not so much their response
accuracy, consistently and significantly covary with the respiratory cycle, differing between inhalation
and exhalation. This effect is strongest when analysed contingent on the respiratory state around
participants’ responses. The respective effect sizes of these respiration-behaviour relations are
comparable to those seen in other typical experimental manipulations in sensory-cognitive tasks,
highlighting the relevance of these effects. Overall, our results support a prominent relation between
respiration and sensory-cognitive function and show that sensation is intricately linked to rhythmic
bodily or interoceptive functions.

Breathing coordinates cortico-hippocampal dynamics in mice during offline states

Karalis 2022

Network dynamics have been proposed as a mechanistic substrate for the information
transfer across cortical and hippocampal circuits. However, little is known about the
mechanisms that synchronize and coordinate these processes across widespread brain
regions during offline states. Here we address the hypothesis that breathing acts as an
oscillatory pacemaker, persistently coupling distributed brain circuit dynamics. Using largescale
recordings from a number of cortical and subcortical brain regions in behaving mice, we
uncover the presence of an intracerebral respiratory corollary discharge, that modulates
neural activity across these circuits. During offline states, the respiratory modulation
underlies the coupling of hippocampal sharp-wave ripples and cortical DOWN/UP state
transitions, which mediates systems memory consolidation. These results highlight breathing,
a perennial brain rhythm, as an oscillatory scaffold for the functional coordination of the
limbic circuit that supports the segregation and integration of information flow across neuronal
networks during offline states.

The Effect of Deep and Slow Breathing on Retention and Cognitive Function in the Elderly Population

Lee 2023

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to apply deep and slow breathing to the elderly, who can be
classified as potential dementia patients, to confirm changes in the cognitive functions of learning
and memory. Forty-five elderly subjects were randomly and evenly divided into a rest group (RG), a
before group (BG), and an after group (AG). Measurements of their cognitive abilities were obtained
before testing (PT), 30 min after learning (STT), and 24 h after learning (LTT). After PT measurements
were obtained from all three groups, the RG and AG conducted new cognitive skills learning, while
the BG performed deep and slow breathing (DSB) for 30 min before learning new cognitive skills.
After all the three groups underwent 30 min of learning, the STT was performed. Subsequently,
the AG performed DSB for 30 min. Finally, 24 h after learning, the LTT was conducted for all three
groups. Changes were compared and analyzed by measuring the retention of new cognitive skills
and attention, working memory, and spatial perception of cognitive functions. A two-way repeated
measure analysis of variance measured the effect of the application of DSB in the three groups. These
results demonstrated a significant interaction of time and time*group in all measurements of retention
and attention, working memory, and spatial perception. This study confirms the benefit of DSB as
part of a dementia prevention training protocol.

Prevalent and sex-biased breathing patterns modify functional connectivity MRI in young adults (link)

Lynch 2020, Nature Communications

Resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a tool for investigating human brain organization. Here we identify, visually and algorithmically, two prevalent influences on fMRI signals during 440 h of resting state scans in 440 healthy young adults, both caused by deviations from normal breathing which we term deep breaths and bursts. The two respiratory patterns have distinct influences on fMRI signals and signal covariance, distinct timescales, distinct cardiovascular correlates, and distinct tendencies to manifest by sex. Deep breaths are not sex-biased. Bursts, which are serial taperings of respiratory depth typically spanning minutes at a time, are more common in males. Bursts share features of chemoreflex-driven clinical breathing patterns that also occur primarily in males, with notable neurological, psychiatric, medical, and lifespan associations. These results identify common breathing patterns in healthy young adults with distinct influences on functional connectivity and an ability to differentially influence resting state fMRI studies.

Respiration-Driven Brain Oscillations in Emotional Cognition

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncir.2021.761812/full

Shani Folschweiller and Jonas-Frederic Sauer

Respiration paces brain oscillations and the firing of individual neurons, revealing a profound impact of rhythmic breathing on brain activity. Intriguingly, respiration-driven entrainment of neural activity occurs in a variety of cortical areas, including those involved in higher cognitive functions such as associative neocortical regions and the hippocampus. Here we review recent findings of respiration-entrained brain activity with a particular focus on emotional cognition. We summarize studies from different brain areas involved in emotional behavior such as fear, despair, and motivation, and compile findings of respiration-driven activities across species. Furthermore, we discuss the proposed cellular and network mechanisms by which cortical circuits are entrained by respiration. The emerging synthesis from a large body of literature suggests that the impact of respiration on brain function is widespread across the brain and highly relevant for distinct cognitive functions. These intricate links between respiration and cognitive processes call for mechanistic studies of the role of rhythmic breathing as a timing signal for brain activity.

Jack Feldman podcast - breathing for health

Dr. Jack Feldman: Breathing for Mental & Physical Health & Performance

Andrew Huberman

737K subscribers

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This episode my guest is Dr. Jack Feldman, Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at University of California, Los Angeles and a pioneering world expert in the science of respiration (breathing). We discuss how and why humans breathe the way we do, the function of the diaphragm and how it serves to increase oxygenation of the brain and body. We discuss how breathing influences mental state, fear, memory, reaction time, and more. And we discuss specific breathing protocols such as box-breathing, cyclic hyperventilation (similar to Wim Hof breathing), nasal versus mouth breathing, unilateral breathing, and how these each effect the brain and body. We discuss physiological sighs, peptides expressed by specific neurons controlling breathing, and magnesium compounds that can improve cognitive ability and how they work. This conversation serves as a sort of "Master Class" on the science of breathing and breathing related tools for health and performance.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569904821001671?via%3Dihub

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