Nothing to rescue: If cognitive load is not sufficient to affect cardiovascular dynamics, resonance paced breathing cannot facilitate performance.
Year: 2022
Type: preprint
Abstract: The cardiovascular system offers a window to the physiological adaptations generated by cognitive stress. Importantly, it is possible to modulate the cardiovascular system via resonance breathing techniques, and this has shown to improve cognitive performance. However, there is a lack of research on the mechanisms by which resonance breathing enacts its effects on cognitive processing, and this research can spur the development of novel clinical tools. In this brief report we examined the effect of cognitive load on heart-rate variability (HRV) in the high-frequency (HF) range and at 0.1Hz, as a proxy for baroreflex activation. Participants (n=65) completed a 0-back task, followed by a control breathing task, and a 2-back task. Finally they completed a resonance paced breathing task and another 2-back task (order of breathing tasks counterbalanced). We also obtained subjective measures of stress and difficulty after each n-back task. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found a sensitively null effect of 2-back on 0.1Hz and HF HRV. Further, resonance breathing did not improve physiological state during subsequent 2-back task, nor did it improve cognitive performance or decreased perceived stress and difficulty. These results fail to replicate, in a healthy population, previous findings regarding the impact of increased working memory load on HRV. Null results are discussed within novel predictive coding perspectives of the role of HRV in cognitive adaptations and mental health, and can help guide future research on the effect of resonance breathing in cognitive processing.
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4220962260