Key result
Exposure to a tense condition significantly increased respiratory rate and minute ventilation compared to other conditions (P<0.05), and increased raw neural respiratory drive index compared to a calm condition (P=0.03).
Why the study?
Previous reductions in parasternal intercostal electromyography were attributed to acclimatization and reduced anxiety, prompting investigation into whether manipulating affective state influences neural respiratory drive.
Does manipulation of affective state influence respiratory muscle activity in healthy adults?
Does manipulation of affective state influence respiratory muscle activity in healthy adults?
p-value: p=<0.05
Anxiety and affective state can significantly elevate respiratory muscle activity and ventilation, indicating that anxiety should be considered when measuring respiratory muscle activity to ensure accurate representation of underlying respiratory load.
Affective tension elevates ventilation and neural drive in healthy adults; leaves open whether anxiety confounds clinical respiratory measurements.
Summary Measures of neural respiratory drive through the use of electromyography of the parasternal intercostal muscles ( EMG para) are accurate markers of respiratory load and are reflective of pulmonary function. A previous observation of a significant reduction in EMG para from a first to second measurement occasion was attributed to participants’ acclimatization to the laboratory environment and a reduction in anxiety. This study therefore aimed to investigate whether manipulation of participants’ affective state would influence EMG para and related variables. Healthy adult participants underwent measurement of EMG para and respiratory flow and volume during exposure to four conditions: no stimulus, music, and tense and calm videos. Respiratory rate ( RR ), raw neural respiratory drive index (raw NRDI , the product of EMG para in microvolts and RR ) and minute ventilation ( VE ) differed significantly across conditions: RR and VE were significantly higher in the tense condition than all other conditions (all P <0·05); raw NRDI was higher in the tense compared to the calm video condition ( P = 0·03). There was also a significant relationship between EMG para and subjective tension ratings (measured via visual analogue scale) in the tense condition (Spearman's rho = 0·508, P = 0·016), with multivariate modelling indicating significant interactions between raw NRDI and subjective ratings of both tension and calmness. This suggests that anxiety could contribute to elevated respiratory muscle activity and ventilation. Greater consideration should be given to the influence of anxiety when undertaking measurement of respiratory muscle activity to ensure data accurately represent underlying respiratory load.
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Westbrook et al. (2019) studied Healthy. Manipulation of affective state (tense video) vs. No stimulus, music, and calm video was evaluated on Respiratory rate (RR), raw neural respiratory drive index (raw NRDI), and minute ventilation (VE) (p=<0.05). Exposure to a tense condition significantly increased respiratory rate and minute ventilation compared to other conditions (P<0.05), and increased raw neural respiratory drive index compared to a calm condition (P=0.03).
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