Mental load reduced correlated respiratory variation and increased sigh rate, whereas sustained attention reduced total respiratory variability.
Observational
Spontaneous breathing consists of substantial correlated variability: Parameters characterizing a breath are correlated with parameters characterizing previous and future breaths. On the basis of dynamic system theory, negative emotion states are predicted to reduce correlated variability whereas sustained attention is expected to reduce total respiratory variability. Both are predicted to evoke sighing. To test this, respiratory variability and sighing were assessed during a baseline, stressful mental arithmetic task, nonstressful sustained attention task, and recovery in between tasks. For respiration rate (excluding sighs), reduced total variability was found during the attention task, whereas correlated variation was reduced during mental load. Sigh rate increased during mental load and during recovery from the attention task. It is concluded that mental load and task-related attention show specific patterns in respiratory variability and sigh rate.
Vlemincx et al. (Wed,) reported a observational. Stressful mental arithmetic task and nonstressful sustained attention task vs. Baseline and recovery periods was evaluated on Respiratory variability and sigh rate. Mental load reduced correlated respiratory variation and increased sigh rate, whereas sustained attention reduced total respiratory variability.