The locus coeruleus (LC), a small brain nucleus, regulates both attention and respiration. Optimal attention requires LC activity to match task demands, while LC neurons also respond to carbon dioxide levels, causing respiratory-linked fluctuations in LC activity. This overlap may synchronize breathing and attention, creating subtle oscillations that aid attentional flexibility but can also destabilize it. The authors present original findings of respiration-LC coupling using fMRI and pupil dilation, show that respiratory phase relates to attentional performance, and offer a mathematical model of this coupling. They propose that meditation and pranayama practices enhance attention, emotion, and physiology partly through the LC's role as a nexus in this coupled system.
Basic Emotion Theory (BET) has been central to affective science for decades, guiding research on facial expressions, neuroimaging, and evolutionary psychology. Philosophers have recently called for abandoning BET entirely. This paper defends BET against those criticisms, arguing that the theory should be retained. It also addresses concerns that BET's reliance on affect programs makes it outdated. The authors propose that with minor adjustments, BET can overcome these objections when reinterpreted through a radically enactive account of emotions. Rather than discarding BET, the paper shows how its core ideas can be revised and preserved, concluding that the revised BET remains a valuable framework.
Intentional and unintentional mind-wandering have distinct brain signatures measurable by scalp EEG. Theta-frequency activity best distinguishes on-task from off-task states, while alpha-frequency activity characterizes intentional task-unrelated thought compared to unintentional. These findings support the intentionality dimension of mind-wandering and suggest potential for real-time detection of maladaptive mind-wandering.