Prolonged exhalation increased risky choices by enhancing reward sensitivity and elevating cardiac parasympathetic activity, modulating value-based decision-making through neuro-cardiac pathways.
Does prolonged exhalation affect risky decision-making and neural/physiological activity in human participants?
Autonomic regulation via slow breathing can shape value-based decision-making through neuro-cardiac pathways.
Summary Successful decision-making requires that external information be interpreted in the context of the body's state. Within the framework of body-brain interaction, deliberately modifying one's autonomic state can shape how we evaluate the world, ultimately influencing choices. Yet, it remains unclear whether and how intentional autonomic regulation affects human decision-making. In this study, we tested instructed use of prolonged exhalation, a slow-breathing technique designed to boost parasympathetic activity during risky decision-making. Participants followed distinct breathing protocols while making risky choices, with neural and physiological activity measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multichannel monitoring. Prolonged exhalation increased risky choices by enhancing reward sensitivity and elevating cardiac parasympathetic activity. Importantly, individuals with greater parasympathetic upregulation also showed stronger reward-related responses in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and precuneus. Our work reveals the transformative role of breathing-based interventions, demonstrating that autonomic regulation via breathing can shape value-based decision-making through neuro-cardiac pathways.
Huang et al. (Fri,) reported a other. Prolonged exhalation (slow-breathing technique) vs. Distinct breathing protocols was evaluated on Risky choices, reward sensitivity, and cardiac parasympathetic activity. Prolonged exhalation increased risky choices by enhancing reward sensitivity and elevating cardiac parasympathetic activity, modulating value-based decision-making through neuro-cardiac pathways.