{
  "abstract": "Mere milliseconds can determine whether a sprinter or swimmer wins or places second. Would it help to intentionally control breathing while awaiting the starting signal? Here, we analyzed sustained-attention performance in 35 adults and found that response speed varied with respiratory phase. Responses were faster during exhalations and during respiratory pauses compared to during inhalations. Fine-grained analyses across the entire respiratory cycle revealed that reaction times were slowest around the peak of inhalations, corroborating a systematic relationship between respiratory phase and speed of response in this widely used attention test. This work highlights respiration as an important contributor to moment-to-moment variability in performance under circumstances of sustained attention and suggests potential benefits of aligning breathing patterns with task demands.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Psychology and Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Erika M Yamazaki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ken A Paller"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bzs70jg7qj7ax.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.isci.2026.117535",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13689610",
  "id": "bzs70jg7qj7ax",
  "issns": [
    "2589-0042"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923713",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Mind wandering and attention"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7113377716",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13689610?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13689610",
  "pmid": "42923713",
  "published": "2026-09-28",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bzs70jg7qj7ax.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:36Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42923713",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923713"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Mind wandering and attention",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Response speed is modulated by respiratory phase.",
  "title_text": "Response speed is modulated by respiratory phase.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bzs70jg7qj7ax",
  "venue": "IScience",
  "versions": []
}