Controlled breathing has long been used in meditation and other traditional practices to promote emotional calm. The underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. Professor Ti-Fei Yuan from the School of Psychology, in collaboration with the teams led by Professors Fang Yuan and Sheng Wang from Hebei Medical University, recently published a study entitled “Respiratory-limbic coupling via a thalamic circuit alleviates anxiety” in Advanced Science.
The study identified three-part neural circuit linking the preBötzinger complex (preBötC), the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT), and the central amygdala (CeA). The researchers showed that a thalamic circuit connects the medullary respiratory centre with the limbic system, providing a neural pathway through which breathing can influence emotion. This pathway was involved in alleviating anxiety, slowing the breathing rate, and stabilising respiratory rhythms. In a complementary clinical study, deliberate slow breathing was shown to significantly reduce anxiety levels. Stereo-electroencephalography (sEEG) recordings from the amygdala of patients with epilepsy further revealed that slow breathing significantly reduced anxiety-related beta- and high-gamma-band activity.
This work provides a neurobiological basis for further research into non-pharmacological approaches to anxiety, including both biofeedback techniques and precision breathing training. More broadly, the findings show how deliberate control of breathing can influence neural activity involved in anxiety regulation.
Paper link: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202517477
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