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Dias AL, Alves Belo JA, Drieskens DC. Respiratory Coupled Oscillations as a Mechanism of Attention to the Olfactory Environment. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1866232024. [PMID: 38383486 PMCID: PMC10883658 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1866-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 01/06/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Luiza Dias
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte 59078-97022, Brazil
| | - Joseph Andrews Alves Belo
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte 59078-97022, Brazil
| | - Davi Carvalho Drieskens
- Psychology Department, Program of Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavior, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba 58051-900, Brazil
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2
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Grossman P. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), vagal tone and biobehavioral integration: Beyond parasympathetic function. Biol Psychol 2024; 186:108739. [PMID: 38151156 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Linchpin to the entire area of psychophysiological research and discussion of the vagus is the respiratory and cardiovascular phenomenon known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; often synonymous with high-frequency heart-rate variability when it is specifically linked to respiratory frequency), i.e. rhythmic fluctuations in heart rate synchronized to inspiration and expiration. This article aims 1) to clarify concepts, terms and measures commonly employed during the last half century in the scientific literature, which relate vagal function to psychological processes and general aspects of health; and 2) to expand upon an earlier theoretical model, emphasizing the importance of RSA well beyond the current focus upon parasympathetic mechanisms. A close examination of RSA and its relations to the vagus may 1) dispel certain commonly held beliefs about associations between psychological functioning, RSA and the parasympathetic nervous system (for which the vagus nerve plays a major role), and 2) offer fresh perspectives about the likely functions and adaptive significance of RSA, as well as RSA's relationship to vagal control. RSA is neither an invariably reliable index of cardiac vagal tone nor of central vagal outflow to the heart. The model here presented posits that RSA represents an evolutionarily entrenched, cardiovascular and respiratory phenomenon that significantly contributes to meeting continuously changing metabolic, energy and behavioral demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Grossman
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
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3
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Ritz T. Putting back respiration into respiratory sinus arrhythmia or high-frequency heart rate variability: Implications for interpretation, respiratory rhythmicity, and health. Biol Psychol 2024; 185:108728. [PMID: 38092221 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Research on respiratory sinus arrhythmia, or high-frequency heart rate variability (its frequency-domain equivalent), has been popular in psychology and the behavioral sciences for some time. It is typically interpreted as an indicator of cardiac vagal activity. However, as research has shown for decades, the respiratory pattern can influence the amplitude of these noninvasive measures substantially, without necessarily reflecting changes in tonic cardiac vagal activity. Although changes in respiration are systematically associated with experiential and behavioral states, this potential confound in the interpretation of RSA, or HF-HRV, is rarely considered. Interpretations of within-individual changes in these parameters are therefore only conclusive if undertaken relative to the breathing pattern. The interpretation of absolute levels of these parameters between individuals is additionally burdened with the problem of residual inspiratory cardiac vagal activity in humans. Furthermore, multiple demographic, anthropometric, life-style, health, and medication variables can act as relevant third variables that might explain associations of RSA or HF-HRV with experiential and behavioral variables. Because vagal activity measured by these parameters only represents the portion of cardiac vagal outflow that is modulated by the respiratory rhythm, alternative interpretations beyond cardiac vagal activity should be considered. Accumulating research shows that activity of multiple populations of neurons in the brain and the periphery, and with that organ activity and function, are modulated rhythmically by respiratory activity. Thus, observable health benefits ascribed to the cardiac vagal system through RSA or HF-HRV may actually reflect beneficial effects of respiratory modulation. Respiratory rhythmicity may ultimately provide the mechanism that integrates central, autonomic, and visceral activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ritz
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
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4
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Yang K, Ayala-Grosso C, Bhattarai JP, Sheriff A, Takahashi T, Cristino AS, Zelano C, Ma M. Unraveling the Link between Olfactory Deficits and Neuropsychiatric Disorders. J Neurosci 2023; 43:7501-7510. [PMID: 37940584 PMCID: PMC10634556 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1380-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Smell loss has caught public attention during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Research on olfactory function in health and disease gains new momentum. Smell deficits have long been recognized as an early clinical sign associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Here we review research on the associations between olfactory deficits and neuropathological conditions, focusing on recent progress in four areas: (1) human clinical studies of the correlations between smell deficits and neuropsychiatric disorders; (2) development of olfactory mucosa-derived tissue and cell models for studying the molecular pathologic mechanisms; (3) recent findings in brain imaging studies of structural and functional connectivity changes in olfactory pathways in neuropsychiatric disorders; and (4) application of preclinical animal models to validate and extend the findings from human subjects. Together, these studies have provided strong evidence of the link between the olfactory system and neuropsychiatric disorders, highlighting the relevance of deepening our understanding of the role of the olfactory system in pathophysiological processes. Following the lead of studies reviewed here, future research in this field may open the door to the early detection of neuropsychiatric disorders, personalized treatment approaches, and potential therapeutic interventions through nasal administration techniques, such as nasal brush or nasal spray.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287
| | - Carlos Ayala-Grosso
- Unit of Cellular Therapy, Centre of Experimental Medicine, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, 1020-A, Venezuela
- Unit of Advanced Therapies, Instituto Distrital de Ciencia Biotecnología e Innovación en Salud, Bogotá, Colombia 111-611
| | - Janardhan P Bhattarai
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Andrew Sheriff
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Tsutomu Takahashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan
| | - Alexandre S Cristino
- Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland 4111, Australia
| | - Christina Zelano
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611
| | - Minghong Ma
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
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5
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Saltafossi M, Zaccaro A, Perrucci MG, Ferri F, Costantini M. The impact of cardiac phases on multisensory integration. Biol Psychol 2023; 182:108642. [PMID: 37467844 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
The brain continuously processes information coming from both the external environment and visceral signals generated by the body. This constant information exchange between the body and the brain allows signals originating from the oscillatory activity of the heart, among others, to influence perception. Here, we investigated how the cardiac phase modulates multisensory integration, which is the process that allows information from multiple senses to combine non-linearly to reduce environmental uncertainty. Forty healthy participants completed a Simple Detection Task with unimodal (Auditory, Visual, Tactile) and bimodal (Audio-Tactile, Audio-Visual, Visuo-Tactile) stimuli presented 250 ms and 500 ms after the R-peak of the electrocardiogram, that is, systole and diastole, respectively. First, we found a nonspecific effect of the cardiac cycle phases on detection of both unimodal and bimodal stimuli. Reaction times were faster for stimuli presented during diastole, compared to systole. Then, applying the Race Model Inequality approach to quantify multisensory integration, Audio-Tactile and Visuo-Tactile, but not Audio-Visual stimuli, showed higher integration when presented during diastole than during systole. These findings indicate that the impact of the cardiac phase on multisensory integration may be specific for stimuli including somatosensory (i.e., tactile) inputs. This suggests that the heartbeat-related noise, which according to the interoceptive predictive coding theory suppresses somatosensory inputs, also affects multisensory integration during systole. In conclusion, our data extend the interoceptive predictive coding theory to the multisensory domain. From a more mechanistic view, they may reflect a reduced optimization of neural oscillations orchestrating multisensory integration during systole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Saltafossi
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
| | - Andrea Zaccaro
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, ITAB, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marcello Costantini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, ITAB, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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6
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Brændholt M, Kluger DS, Varga S, Heck DH, Gross J, Allen MG. Breathing in waves: Understanding respiratory-brain coupling as a gradient of predictive oscillations. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105262. [PMID: 37271298 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Breathing plays a crucial role in shaping perceptual and cognitive processes by regulating the strength and synchronisation of neural oscillations. Numerous studies have demonstrated that respiratory rhythms govern a wide range of behavioural effects across cognitive, affective, and perceptual domains. Additionally, respiratory-modulated brain oscillations have been observed in various mammalian models and across diverse frequency spectra. However, a comprehensive framework to elucidate these disparate phenomena remains elusive. In this review, we synthesise existing findings to propose a neural gradient of respiratory-modulated brain oscillations and examine recent computational models of neural oscillations to map this gradient onto a hierarchical cascade of precision-weighted prediction errors. By deciphering the computational mechanisms underlying respiratory control of these processes, we can potentially uncover new pathways for understanding the link between respiratory-brain coupling and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malthe Brændholt
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Daniel S Kluger
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Germany.
| | - Somogy Varga
- School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark; The Centre for Philosophy of Epidemiology, Medicine and Public Health, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Detlef H Heck
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN
| | - Joachim Gross
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Micah G Allen
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Denmark; Cambridge Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK
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Kluger DS, Forster C, Abbasi O, Chalas N, Villringer A, Gross J. Modulatory dynamics of periodic and aperiodic activity in respiration-brain coupling. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4699. [PMID: 37543697 PMCID: PMC10404236 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40250-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bodily rhythms such as respiration are increasingly acknowledged to modulate neural oscillations underlying human action, perception, and cognition. Conversely, the link between respiration and aperiodic brain activity - a non-oscillatory reflection of excitation-inhibition (E:I) balance - has remained unstudied. Aiming to disentangle potential respiration-related dynamics of periodic and aperiodic activity, we applied recently developed algorithms of time-resolved parameter estimation to resting-state MEG and EEG data from two labs (total N = 78 participants). We provide evidence that fluctuations of aperiodic brain activity (1/f slope) are phase-locked to the respiratory cycle, which suggests that spontaneous state shifts of excitation-inhibition balance are at least partly influenced by peripheral bodily signals. Moreover, differential temporal dynamics in their coupling to non-oscillatory and oscillatory activity raise the possibility of a functional distinction in the way each component is related to respiration. Our findings highlight the role of respiration as a physiological influence on brain signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Kluger
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
| | - Carina Forster
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Berlin, Germany
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
| | - Omid Abbasi
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Nikos Chalas
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Berlin, Germany
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Faculty of Philosophy, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, MindBrainBody Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Joachim Gross
- Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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8
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Drozdovszky O, Petzke T, Köteles F. Sensory and affective aspects of the perception of respiratory resistance. Biol Futur 2023:10.1007/s42977-023-00173-4. [PMID: 37481740 DOI: 10.1007/s42977-023-00173-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Perception of airway resistance has a sensory and an affective aspect, i.e., perceived resistance and unpleasantness, respectively. The current study aimed to shed more light on the relationship of these aspects, as well as their malleability to trait-like aspects of body awareness. In a laboratory study, 71 young participants completed two respiratory resistive load discrimination tasks relying on sensory and affective evaluation, respectively, and filled out questionnaires assessing somatosensory amplification, anxiety sensitivity, somatic symptoms distress, and breath awareness. Frequentist and Bayesian statistical analysis revealed no differences in discrimination accuracy with respect to the sensory and affective aspect of perceived resistance. Psychological traits were not associated with accuracy scores. In conclusion, affective evaluation of respiratory load is as accurate as sensory evaluation. Neither sensory not affective accuracy is influenced by various aspects of body awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Drozdovszky
- Institute of Health Promotion and Sport Sciences, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Ádám György Psychophysiology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tara Petzke
- Psychological Institute, Johannes Gutenberg University, Wallstraße 3, 55122, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Ferenc Köteles
- Ádám György Psychophysiology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
- Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
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9
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Ritz T, von Leupoldt A. Introduction to the 2022 special issue on neuroscience and psychobiology of respiration in Biological Psychology. Biol Psychol 2023; 176:108478. [PMID: 36521652 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Ritz
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
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10
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Heck DH, Varga S. "The great mixing machine": multisensory integration and brain-breath coupling in the cerebral cortex. Pflugers Arch 2023; 475:5-11. [PMID: 35904636 PMCID: PMC10163438 DOI: 10.1007/s00424-022-02738-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
It is common to distinguish between "holist" and "reductionist" views of brain function, where the former envisions the brain as functioning as an indivisible unit and the latter as a collection of distinct units that serve different functions. Opposing reductionism, a number of researchers have pointed out that cortical network architecture does not respect functional boundaries, and the neuroanatomist V. Braitenberg proposed to understand the cerebral cortex as a "great mixing machine" of neuronal activity from sensory inputs, motor commands, and intrinsically generated processes. In this paper, we offer a contextualization of Braitenberg's point, and we review evidence for the interactions of neuronal activity from multiple sensory inputs and intrinsic neuronal processes in the cerebral cortex. We focus on new insights from studies on audiovisual interactions and on the influence of respiration on brain functions, which do not seem to align well with "reductionist" views of areal functional boundaries. Instead, they indicate that functional boundaries are fuzzy and context dependent. In addition, we discuss the relevance of the influence of sensory, proprioceptive, and interoceptive signals on cortical activity for understanding brain-body interactions, highlight some of the consequences of these new insights for debates on embodied cognition, and offer some suggestions for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Detlef H Heck
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
| | - Somogy Varga
- School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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11
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Candia-Rivera D, Sappia MS, Horschig JM, Colier WNJM, Valenza G. Confounding effects of heart rate, breathing rate, and frontal fNIRS on interoception. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20701. [PMID: 36450811 PMCID: PMC9712694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25119-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have established that cardiac and respiratory phases can modulate perception and related neural dynamics. While heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia possibly affect interoception biomarkers, such as heartbeat-evoked potentials, the relative changes in heart rate and cardiorespiratory dynamics in interoceptive processes have not yet been investigated. In this study, we investigated the variation in heart and breathing rates, as well as higher functional dynamics including cardiorespiratory correlation and frontal hemodynamics measured with fNIRS, during a heartbeat counting task. To further investigate the functional physiology linked to changes in vagal activity caused by specific breathing rates, we performed the heartbeat counting task together with a controlled breathing rate task. The results demonstrate that focusing on heartbeats decreases breathing and heart rates in comparison, which may be part of the physiological mechanisms related to "listening" to the heart, the focus of attention, and self-awareness. Focusing on heartbeats was also observed to increase frontal connectivity, supporting the role of frontal structures in the neural monitoring of visceral inputs. However, cardiorespiratory correlation is affected by both heartbeats counting and controlled breathing tasks. Based on these results, we concluded that variations in heart and breathing rates are confounding factors in the assessment of interoceptive abilities and relative fluctuations in breathing and heart rates should be considered to be a mode of covariate measurement of interoceptive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Candia-Rivera
- Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio & Department of Information Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122, Pisa, Italy.
| | - M Sofía Sappia
- Artinis Medical Systems, B.V., Einsteinweg 17, 6662 PW, Elst, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Cognition, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jörn M Horschig
- Artinis Medical Systems, B.V., Einsteinweg 17, 6662 PW, Elst, The Netherlands
| | - Willy N J M Colier
- Artinis Medical Systems, B.V., Einsteinweg 17, 6662 PW, Elst, The Netherlands
| | - Gaetano Valenza
- Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio & Department of Information Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122, Pisa, Italy
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