Conditional Entropy Estimates for Distress Detection with EEG Signals

A 14-week structured breathing program: an investigation into its impact on psychological health parameters in university students

BACKGROUND

University students are prone to high levels of stress, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, which can negatively affect their mental health and academic performance. Breathing exercises have been suggested as a simple and effective intervention to reduce these issues. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a 14-week structured breathing exercises program on the psychological well-being of physical therapy students, focusing on subjective happiness, sleep quality, worry levels, and emotional regulation.

METHODS

This was a non-randomized study that included 46 s-year students. The intervention group received weekly 30-minute sessions of breathing exercises for 14 weeks, while the control group continued their usual activities. Data were collected at baseline and 14 weeks using validated questionnaires such as Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analysis included paired samples t-tests and Wilcoxon singed-rank test.

RESULTS

The intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in subjective happiness (p < 0.0001), positive affect (p < 0.0001), and sleep quality (p = 0.0001) post-intervention. A significant decrease was observed in worry levels (p = 0.0001), and negative affect was modestly reduced (p = 0.02). The control group showed no significant changes except for a minor increase in subjective happiness (p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

The 14-week structured breathing program significantly enhanced subjective happiness, emotional regulation, and sleep quality, reducing worry levels among physical therapy students. The results could contribute to integrating these techniques into educational programs and developing accessible strategies to improve student well-being.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov on 09.05.2024 under the identification ID NCT06341569 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06341569 ).

On the Hierarchical Organization of Oscillatory Assemblies: Layered Superimposition and a Global Bioelectric Framework

Bioelectric oscillations occur throughout the nervous system of nearly all animals, revealed to play an important role in various aspects of cognitive activity such as information processing and feature binding. Modern research into this dynamic and intrinsic bioelectric activity of neural cells continues to raise questions regarding their role in consciousness and cognition. In this theoretical article, we assert a novel interpretation of the hierarchical nature of "brain waves" by identifying that the superposition of multiple oscillations varying in frequency corresponds to the superimposing of the contents of consciousness and cognition. In order to describe this isomorphism, we present a layered model of the global functional oscillations of various frequencies which act as a part of a unified metastable continuum described by the Operational Architectonics theory and suggested to be responsible for the emergence of the phenomenal mind. We detail the purposes, functions, and origins of each layer while proposing our main theory that the superimposition of these oscillatory layers mirrors the superimposition of the components of the integrated phenomenal experience as well as of cognition. In contrast to the traditional view that localizations of high and low-frequency activity are spatially distinct, many authors have suggested a hierarchical nature to oscillations. Our theoretical interpretation is founded in four layers which correlate not only in frequency but in evolutionary development. As other authors have done, we explore how these layers correlate to the phenomenology of human experience. Special importance is placed on the most basal layer of slow oscillations in coordinating and grouping all of the other layers. By detailing the isomorphism between the phenomenal and physiologic aspects of how lower frequency layers provide a foundation for higher frequency layers to be organized upon, we provide a further means to elucidate physiological and cognitive mechanisms of mind and for the well-researched outcomes of certain voluntary breathing patterns and meditative practices which modulate the mind and have therapeutic effects for psychiatric and other disorders.

Multiscale Entropy Analysis for Recognition of Visually Elicited Negative Stress From EEG Recordings

Automatic identification of negative stress is an unresolved challenge that has received great attention in the last few years. Many studies have analyzed electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to gain new insights about how the brain reacts to both short- and long-term stressful stimuli. Although most of them have only considered linear methods, the heterogeneity and complexity of the brain has recently motivated an increasing use of nonlinear metrics. Nonetheless, brain dynamics reflected in EEG recordings often exhibit a multiscale nature and no study dealing with this aspect has been developed yet. Hence, in this work two nonlinear indices for quantifying regularity and predictability of time series from several time scales are studied for the first time to discern between visually elicited emotional states of calmness and negative stress. The obtained results have revealed the maximum discriminant ability of 86.35% for the second time scale, thus suggesting that brain dynamics triggered by negative stress can be more clearly assessed after removal of some fast temporal oscillations. Moreover, both metrics have also been able to report complementary information for some brain areas.

Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia

Sleep is a quiescent behavioral state during which complex homeostatic functions essential to health and well-being occur. Insomnia is a very common psychiatric disorder leading to a myriad of detrimental effects including loss of concentration, memory, and performance as well as disease. Current pharmaceutical treatments can be expensive, impairing, unhealthy, and habit-forming. Relaxation techniques, such as meditation target the brain and body in contrast to pharmaceutical interventions which solely target neurotransmitter systems in the brain. In this article we present a viewpoint on the treatment of insomnia that techniques of slow, deep breathing (0.1 Hz) in adjunct to sleep hygiene and relaxation therapies may be highly effective in initiating sleep as well as facilitating falling back asleep. The autonomic nervous system is integral to sleep initiation, maintenance, and disruption. Understanding the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and sleep physiology along with the nature of sleep itself remains a challenge to modern science. We present this perspective in light of a prevailing "dysevolution" theory on the pathology of insomnia that proposes hyper-arousal characterized in part by chronic sympathetic hyperactivation and/or parasympathetic hypoactivation disrupts normal sleep onset latency, sleep quality, and sleep duration. We additionally discuss physiological mechanisms responsible for the effectiveness of the breathing treatment we describe. A better understanding of these mechanisms and autonomic pathologies of insomnia may provide support for the effectiveness of such techniques and provide relief to sufferers of this health epidemic.