Why the study?
Does controlled breathing with auditory or visual cues alter autonomic control metrics compared to spontaneous breathing in humans?
Does controlled breathing with auditory or visual cues alter autonomic control metrics compared to spontaneous breathing in humans?
Controlled breathing using auditory or visual cues increases respiratory and heart rates compared to spontaneous breathing but does not significantly alter deeper autonomic metrics like baroreflex sensitivity.
May influence HRV interpretation during autonomic testing; leaves open effects on baroreflex sensitivity and MSNA.
We compared standard metrics of autonomic control in 20 humans (10 female) during spontaneous and controlled breathing. Subjects controlled breathing at 0.25 Hz following a metronome (auditory) or scrolling waveforms (visual). Respiratory rates and heart rates were lower during spontaneous breathing compared with auditory and visual. One heart rate variability metric was higher during visual compared with spontaneous breathing, but baroreflex sensitivity and muscle sympathetic nerve activity were not affected by breathing cues. A majority of subjects (86%) perceived that breathing to auditory cues was more difficult compared with visual cues, but this elevated perceived stress did not manifest physiologically.
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Gonzalez et al. (2021) studied this question.
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