Critical roles for breathing in the genesis and modulation of emotional states.
Ikuo Homma, Anthony G. Phillips
Handbook of clinical neurology 2022 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-91534-2.00011-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Keywords | Amygdala Behavioral breathing Brainstem Emotional breathing Limbic system Metabolic breathing Piriform cortex Respiratory rhythm |
| Key points | Argues that voluntary control of breathing is an essential practice for achieving emotional well-being by stabilizing attention and the contents in the stream of consciousness. |
Abstract
Breathing can be classified into metabolic and behavioral categories. Metabolic breathing and voluntary behavioral breathing are controlled in the brainstem and in the cerebral motor cortex, respectively. This chapter places special emphasis on the reciprocal influences between breathing and emotional processes. As is the case with neural control of breathing, emotions are generated by multiple control networks, located primarily in the forebrain. For several decades, a respiratory rhythm generator has been investigated in the limbic system. The amygdala receives respiratory-related input from the piriform cortex. Excitatory recurrent branches are located in the piriform cortex and have tight reciprocal synaptic connections, which produce periodic oscillations, similar to those recorded in the hippocampus during slow-wave sleep. The relationship between olfactory breathing rhythm and emotion is seen as the gateway to interpreting the relationship between breathing and emotion. In this chapter, we describe roles of breathing in the genesis of emotion, neural structures common to breathing and emotion, and mutual importance of breathing and emotion. We also describe the central roles of conscious awareness and voluntary control of breathing, as effective methods for stabilizing attention and the contents in the stream of consciousness. Voluntary control of breathing is seen as an essential practice for achieving emotional well-being.
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Citations in the library
Cites 15
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- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience April 24, 2013
- “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation PLoS One September 2, 2008
- Effects of Yoga Respiratory Practice (Bhastrika pranayama) on Anxiety, Affect, and Brain Functional Connectivity and Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial Frontiers in Psychiatry May 21, 2020
and 10 more in the library