scholarly journals The Influence of Slow-Paced Breathing on Executive Function

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
S. Laborde ◽  
M. S. Allen ◽  
U. Borges ◽  
T. J. Hosang ◽  
P. Furley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Stroop Interference ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Vagal Activity ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Integration Model ◽  
Paced Breathing ◽  
Operation Span

Abstract. The aim of this experiment was to test the immediate effects of slow-paced breathing on executive function. Slow-paced breathing is suggested to increase cardiac vagal activity, and the neurovisceral integration model predicts that higher cardiac vagal activity leads to better executive functioning. In total, 78 participants (41 men, 37 women; Mage = 23.22 years) took part in two counterbalanced experimental conditions: a 3 × 5 min slow-paced breathing condition and a television viewing control condition. After each condition, heart rate variability was measured and participants performed three executive function tasks: the color-word match Stroop (inhibition), the automated operation span task (working memory), and the modified card sorting task (cognitive flexibility). Results showed that performance on executive function tasks was better after slow-paced breathing compared to control, with higher scores observed for Stroop interference accuracy, automated operation span score, and perseverative errors, but not Stroop interference reaction times. This difference in executive function between experimental conditions was not mediated by cardiac vagal activity. Therefore, findings only partially align with predictions of the neurovisceral integration model. Slow-paced breathing appears a promising technique to improve immediate executive function performance. Further studies are recommended that address possible alternative underlying mechanisms and long-term effects.

An Investigation of the Reliability and Self-Regulatory Correlates of Conflict Adaptation

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia L. Feldman ◽  
Antonio L. Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Adaptation Effect ◽  
Stroop Interference ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Conflict Adaptation ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Card Sorting Task ◽  
Component Processes

Abstract. The study of the conflict-adaptation effect, in which encountering information-processing conflict attenuates the disruptive influence of information-processing conflicts encountered subsequently, is a burgeoning area of research. The present study investigated associations among performance measures on a Stroop-trajectory task (measuring Stroop interference and conflict adaptation), on a Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST; measuring cognitive flexibility), and on self-reported measures of self-regulation (including impulsivity and tenacity). We found significant reliability of the conflict-adaptation effects across a two-week period, for response-time and accuracy. Variability in conflict adaptation was not associated significantly with any indicators of performance on the WCST or with most of the self-reported self-regulation measures. There was substantial covariance between Stroop interference for accuracy and conflict adaptation for accuracy. The lack of evidence of covariance across distinct aspects of cognitive control (conflict adaptation, WCST performance, self-reported self-control) may reflect the operation of relatively independent component processes.

A neuropsychological comparison of schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like psychosis of epilepsy

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. C. MELLERS ◽  
B. K. TOONE ◽  
W. A. LISHMAN
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Visual Learning ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Motor Speed ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Neuropsychological Profile ◽  
Patients With Epilepsy

Background. The schizophrenia-like psychoses of epilepsy (SLPE) might represent a secondary form of schizophrenia in which the pathology is relatively confined to the temporal lobe. To test this possibility we have compared the neuropsychological profile of schizophrenia and SLPE. Our main hypothesis was that both psychotic groups would show deficits of temporal lobe function but that prefrontal impairment, as measured by tests of executive function, would be found only in the primary schizophrenic group.Methods. Four groups were studied: (1) patients with SLPE (N = 25); (2) patients with epilepsy but not psychiatric history (N = 24); (3) patients with schizophrenia (N = 22); and (4) healthy volunteers (N = 24). Neuropsychological testing comprised measures of pre-morbid IQ, current verbal and performance IQ, information processing, digit span, motor speed, verbal and visual learning and memory, verbal fluency, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, the Stroop test and the trail making task.Results. Patients with schizophrenia and those with SLPE had almost identical neuropsychological profiles, with impairments of attention, episodic memory (verbal > visual) and executive function. The epileptic controls showed similar though less severe impairments of memory and of some tests of executive function.Conclusions. Our results do not support the hypothesis that the pathophysiology of SLPE and schizophrenia are distinct. While our findings suggest an important role for dominant temporal lobe abnormality in schizophrenia, both in its primary form and in that occurring in patients with epilepsy, they also implicate generalized cognitive impairment, manifest in particular as attentional deficits, in both forms of the disorder.

Efficacy of paced breathing for insomnia: Enhances vagal activity and improves sleep quality

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Tsai ◽  
Terry B. J. Kuo ◽  
Guo-She Lee ◽  
Cheryl C. H. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Vagal Activity ◽  
Paced Breathing

Effects of Success and Failure with Institutionalized Mentally Retarded Adults

1966 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 779-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
William I. Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Mentally Retarded ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Partial Failure ◽  
Failure Group ◽  
Card Sorting Task ◽  
Total Failure ◽  
Success Group

Institutionalized mentally retarded adolescents and young adults ( N = 80) performed on a card-sorting task immediately preceding and following a series of neutral, success, total failure or partial failure experiences. As predicted, the success group demonstrated an increment in performance, the total failure group showed no change in performance, and the partial failure group showed a decrement in performance.

scholarly journals Clinical and neuropsychological assessment of executive function in a sample of children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy

2014 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 954-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bandeira de Lima ◽  
Fernanda Moreira ◽  
Marleide da Mota Gomes ◽  
Heber Maia-Filho
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Clinical Data ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Idiopathic Epilepsy ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Seizure Type ◽  
Card Sorting

Objective To compare the executive functions of children and adolescents with idiopathic epilepsy with a control group and to correlate with clinical data, intelligence and academic performance. Method Cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study. Thirty-one cases and thirty-five controls were evaluated by the WCST (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test).The results were compared with clinical data (seizure type and frequency, disease duration and number of antiepileptic drugs used), IQ (WISC-III) and academic performance (APT). Results Patients with epilepsy had poorer executive function scores. There was no positive linear correlation between test scores and epilepsy variables. There was a positive association between academic performance and some executive function results. Conclusion Children with well controlled idiopathic epilepsy may show deficits in executive functions in spite of clinical variables. Those deficits may influence academic performance.

scholarly journals Single Slow-Paced Breathing Session at Six Cycles per Minute: Investigation of Dose-Response Relationship on Cardiac Vagal Activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12478
Author(s):  
Min You ◽  
Sylvain Laborde ◽  
Nina Zammit ◽  
Maša Iskra ◽  
Uirassu Borges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dose Response ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Respiratory Frequency ◽  
Vagal Activity ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Response Relationship ◽  
Dose Response Relationship ◽  
Paced Breathing ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Session Duration

The practice of slow-paced breathing (SPB) has been linked to a range of positive outcomes, such as decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as increasing well-being. Among the suggested mechanisms of action, SPB has been shown to increase cardiac vagal activity (CVA). The present study aimed to investigate whether there is a dose-response relationship modulating the effects of SPB on CVA. A total of 59 participants were involved in this study. In a within-subject design, participants attended the lab five times, and realized SPB at six cycles per minute with different durations (5, 10, 15, and 20 min), as well as a control condition without SPB. CVA was indexed via the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD). During SPB, findings showed an increase in RMSSD in all conditions compared to the control condition. However, no differences were found in RMSSD among the different session durations, during SPB or during the resting measurement completed immediately after SPB. Noteworthily, session duration showed an influence on the spontaneous respiratory frequency in the resting measurement occurring immediately after SPB. Specifically, respiratory frequency appears to decrease with session duration, thus potentially contributing to additional relaxing effects.

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