How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing
Background: The psycho-physiological changes in brain-body interaction observed in most of meditative and relaxing practices rely on voluntary slowing down of breath frequency. However, the identification of mechanisms linking breath control to its psychophysiological effects is still under debate....
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2018-09-01
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doaj-cdb18848b03d4f10afd5398cf1d466c12020-11-25T03:49:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612018-09-011210.3389/fnhum.2018.00353409421How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow BreathingAndrea Zaccaro0Andrea Piarulli1Andrea Piarulli2Marco Laurino3Erika Garbella4Danilo Menicucci5Bruno Neri6Angelo Gemignani7Angelo Gemignani8Angelo Gemignani9Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyComa Science Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, BelgiumNational Research Council, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, ItalyNuovo Ospedale degli Infermi, Biella, ItalyDepartment of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyNational Research Council, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Pisa, ItalyAzienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, ItalyBackground: The psycho-physiological changes in brain-body interaction observed in most of meditative and relaxing practices rely on voluntary slowing down of breath frequency. However, the identification of mechanisms linking breath control to its psychophysiological effects is still under debate. This systematic review is aimed at unveiling psychophysiological mechanisms underlying slow breathing techniques (<10 breaths/minute) and their effects on healthy subjects.Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases, using keywords related to both breathing techniques and to their psychophysiological outcomes, focusing on cardio-respiratory and central nervous system, has been conducted. From a pool of 2,461 abstracts only 15 articles met eligibility criteria and were included in the review. The present systematic review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.Results: The main effects of slow breathing techniques cover autonomic and central nervous systems activities as well as the psychological status. Slow breathing techniques promote autonomic changes increasing Heart Rate Variability and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia paralleled by Central Nervous System (CNS) activity modifications. EEG studies show an increase in alpha and a decrease in theta power. Anatomically, the only available fMRI study highlights increased activity in cortical (e.g., prefrontal, motor, and parietal cortices) and subcortical (e.g., pons, thalamus, sub-parabrachial nucleus, periaqueductal gray, and hypothalamus) structures. Psychological/behavioral outputs related to the abovementioned changes are increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.Conclusions: Slow breathing techniques act enhancing autonomic, cerebral and psychological flexibility in a scenario of mutual interactions: we found evidence of links between parasympathetic activity (increased HRV and LF power), CNS activities (increased EEG alpha power and decreased EEG theta power) related to emotional control and psychological well-being in healthy subjects. Our hypothesis considers two different mechanisms for explaining psychophysiological changes induced by voluntary control of slow breathing: one is related to a voluntary regulation of internal bodily states (enteroception), the other is associated to the role of mechanoceptors within the nasal vault in translating slow breathing in a modulation of olfactory bulb activity, which in turn tunes the activity of the entire cortical mantle.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353/fullslow breathingbreath-controlpranayamapaced breathingEEGfMRI |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Andrea Zaccaro Andrea Piarulli Andrea Piarulli Marco Laurino Erika Garbella Danilo Menicucci Bruno Neri Angelo Gemignani Angelo Gemignani Angelo Gemignani |
spellingShingle |
Andrea Zaccaro Andrea Piarulli Andrea Piarulli Marco Laurino Erika Garbella Danilo Menicucci Bruno Neri Angelo Gemignani Angelo Gemignani Angelo Gemignani How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing Frontiers in Human Neuroscience slow breathing breath-control pranayama paced breathing EEG fMRI |
author_facet |
Andrea Zaccaro Andrea Piarulli Andrea Piarulli Marco Laurino Erika Garbella Danilo Menicucci Bruno Neri Angelo Gemignani Angelo Gemignani Angelo Gemignani |
author_sort |
Andrea Zaccaro |
title |
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing |
title_short |
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing |
title_full |
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing |
title_fullStr |
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing |
title_full_unstemmed |
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing |
title_sort |
how breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-5161 |
publishDate |
2018-09-01 |
description |
Background: The psycho-physiological changes in brain-body interaction observed in most of meditative and relaxing practices rely on voluntary slowing down of breath frequency. However, the identification of mechanisms linking breath control to its psychophysiological effects is still under debate. This systematic review is aimed at unveiling psychophysiological mechanisms underlying slow breathing techniques (<10 breaths/minute) and their effects on healthy subjects.Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases, using keywords related to both breathing techniques and to their psychophysiological outcomes, focusing on cardio-respiratory and central nervous system, has been conducted. From a pool of 2,461 abstracts only 15 articles met eligibility criteria and were included in the review. The present systematic review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.Results: The main effects of slow breathing techniques cover autonomic and central nervous systems activities as well as the psychological status. Slow breathing techniques promote autonomic changes increasing Heart Rate Variability and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia paralleled by Central Nervous System (CNS) activity modifications. EEG studies show an increase in alpha and a decrease in theta power. Anatomically, the only available fMRI study highlights increased activity in cortical (e.g., prefrontal, motor, and parietal cortices) and subcortical (e.g., pons, thalamus, sub-parabrachial nucleus, periaqueductal gray, and hypothalamus) structures. Psychological/behavioral outputs related to the abovementioned changes are increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.Conclusions: Slow breathing techniques act enhancing autonomic, cerebral and psychological flexibility in a scenario of mutual interactions: we found evidence of links between parasympathetic activity (increased HRV and LF power), CNS activities (increased EEG alpha power and decreased EEG theta power) related to emotional control and psychological well-being in healthy subjects. Our hypothesis considers two different mechanisms for explaining psychophysiological changes induced by voluntary control of slow breathing: one is related to a voluntary regulation of internal bodily states (enteroception), the other is associated to the role of mechanoceptors within the nasal vault in translating slow breathing in a modulation of olfactory bulb activity, which in turn tunes the activity of the entire cortical mantle. |
topic |
slow breathing breath-control pranayama paced breathing EEG fMRI |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353/full |
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