For the first time, scientists have identified a brain circuit that consciously slows breathing and reduces anxiety, offering insight into how practices like yoga and mindfulness benefit mental health.
Published in Nature Neuroscience | Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Understanding the Brain’s Breathing Control
Why do deep, slow breaths help us feel calmer? Researchers from the Salk Institute have found that a specific connection between the brain’s frontal cortex and brainstem allows us to regulate breathing consciously, linking it to our emotional state. The study, conducted on mice, highlights the anterior cingulate cortex (a region of the frontal brain) and its ability to slow breathing through interactions with the brainstem’s medulla. These findings reveal potential targets for new anxiety and stress therapies.
“Aligning our breathing with our emotions seems almost intuitive—but we didn’t really know how this worked in the brain,” says Dr. Sung Han, the study’s senior author. “Our discovery offers a scientific explanation for the calming effects of yoga and mindfulness.”
Key Findings
The researchers traced neural connections between the anterior cingulate cortex, the pons (a brainstem region), and the medulla, identifying a pathway that slows breathing when activated. Using techniques like optogenetics, they found that activating this pathway not only calms the breathing rate but also reduces anxiety-like behaviors. Conversely, blocking the pathway led to faster breathing and heightened anxiety.
These results suggest that conscious breathing techniques could leverage this brain circuit to alleviate negative emotions. As Dr. Jinho Jhang, the study’s first author, notes, “This circuit’s discovery gives hope for developing therapies for panic disorders and anxiety, potentially mimicking the benefits of practices like yoga.”
What’s Next?
The team aims to explore whether drugs could directly activate this circuit, creating a “yoga pill” to slow breathing and promote calm. They are also investigating circuits associated with faster breathing, which may further elucidate the link between emotion and respiration.
Glossary:
- Anterior Cingulate Cortex: A part of the frontal brain involved in emotion, decision-making, and regulating behaviors like breathing.
- Brainstem: The lower part of the brain responsible for automatic processes like breathing and heartbeat.
- Optogenetics: A technique that uses light to control cells in living tissue, often neurons, that have been genetically modified.
- Medulla: A region of the brainstem involved in controlling automatic breathing.
- Pons: A structure in the brainstem that relays messages between different brain areas and regulates breathing rhythms.
Interactive Quiz:
What is the main discovery of this study?
Answer: A brain circuit connecting the frontal cortex and brainstem that consciously slows breathing and reduces anxiety.
How does the anterior cingulate cortex influence breathing?
Answer: It connects to the brainstem, activating a pathway that slows breathing through the pons and medulla.
What is optogenetics used for in this study?
Answer: To control brain circuit activity with light and observe its effects on breathing and behavior.
What potential therapeutic application did researchers suggest?
Answer: Developing drugs to activate the brain circuit and mimic the calming effects of conscious breathing techniques.
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