< Back to previous page

Publication

Learn to breathe, breathe to learn? No evidence for effects of slow deep breathing at a 0.1 Hz frequency on reversal learning

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

This study sought to investigate whether slow deep breathing (SDB) facilitates reversal learning. We also explored whether SDB modulates the renewal effect. After learning a series of cue-outcome associations (early acquisition phase) in a predictive learning task, 37 participants paced their breathing according to a normal (NPB group; 0.2 Hz) or a slow (SDB group; 0.1 Hz) pattern while completing the reversal and renewal phases. Response correctness, heart rate variability (HRV, i.e., Root mean square of successive differences), and respiratory rate were assessed. Findings indicated that both groups adopted the targeted breathing pattern. As expected, the SDB (vs. NPB) group displayed a steeper rise in HRV from early acquisition to the later phases of the task during which the breathing manipulation took place. However, the performance of the NPB and SDB groups did not significantly differ in any phase of the predictive learning task. Despite the inconclusive findings on the effect of SDB on reversal and renewal, these results confirm that SDB can be performed while performing a learning task.
Journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY
ISSN: 0167-8760
Volume: 174
Pages: 92 - 107
Publication year:2022
Accessibility:Open