Response speed is modulated by respiratory phase.
- 1Department of Psychology and Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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.
Related
- Periodically modulated traveling waves in integrate-and-fire networks: recursive speed law and propagation failure
- Contact-Free Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Mechanophenotyping by Amplitude-Modulated Ultrasound and Phase-Locked Optical Diffraction Tomography: Computational Feasibility and Initial Experimental Readouts
- Gait speed and multi-segment foot joint kinematics throughout the entire stance phase using statistical parametric mapping
- No evidence for modulation of the readiness potential by respiratory phase during natural breathing
- Phase response curve and RNA-sequencing demonstrate spiders’ sensitivity to light and pinpoint candidate light-responsive genes
BibTeX
@article{yamazaki2026response,
title = {{Response speed is modulated by respiratory phase.}},
author = {Erika M Yamazaki and Ken A Paller},
journal = {IScience},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117535},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923713},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Response speed is modulated by respiratory phase.
AU - Erika M Yamazaki
AU - Ken A Paller
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
JO - IScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117535
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923713
AB - 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.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -