Key result
High pressure threshold loads increase prefrontal oxygenation and perceived effort more than resistive loads.
Why the study?
Cortical areas including the prefrontal cortex control perception and conscious breathing, but their activity during breathing difficulty is not fully understood.
Do extrinsic inspiratory loads elicit regional changes in prefrontal cortex activity and increased perception ratings?
Do extrinsic inspiratory loads elicit regional changes in prefrontal cortex activity and increased perception ratings?
The prefrontal cortex is involved in processing respiratory stimuli and mediating the perception of effortful breathing.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Findings hypothesis-generating for prefrontal role in effortful breathing; larger studies needed before clinical translation.
It is well-established that the brainstem is responsible for the automatic control of breathing, however, cortical areas control perception and conscious breathing. This study investigated activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during breathing difficulty using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). It was hypothesized that extrinsic inspiratory loads will elicit regional changes in PFC activity and increased perception ratings, as a function of load magnitude and type. Participants were exposed to varying magnitudes of resistive (R) and pressure threshold (PT) inspiratory loads to increase breathing effort. Perception ratings of breathing effort and load magnitude were positively correlated (p < 0.05). PT loads were rated more effortful than R loads (p < 0.05). Differences in perceived effort were a function of inspiratory pressure-time-product (PTP) and inspiratory work of breathing (WoB). PFC activity increased with the largest PT load (p < 0.01), suggesting that the PFC is involved in processing respiratory stimuli. The results support the hypothesis that the PFC is an element of the neural network mediating effortful breathing perception.
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Burt et al. (2023) studied Healthy (n=13). Inspiratory loading (Pressure threshold and Resistive loads) vs. No Load was evaluated on Change in relative oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) level in the left lateral rostral prefrontal cortex (p=<0.01). High magnitude pressure threshold inspiratory loads significantly increased oxygenated hemoglobin levels in the left lateral rostral prefrontal cortex and elicited higher perceived effort compared to resistive loads.
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