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A visuomotor reaction time task increases the irregularity and complexity of inspiratory airflow pattern in man
1Exercise Neuroscience Research Group, Sport and Exercise Science Research Centre, The School of Applied Science, South Bank University, SE1 0AA, London, UK.
Abstract:
Previous studies have suggested that motor cortex may be involved in complex control of respiration in man. In this study, we estimated the influence of a simple visuomotor reaction time task (VMT) on the inspiratory airflow curve (IFC) by comparing measurements of standard deviation (SD), C(0) complexity and approximate entropy (ApEn) of the IFC at rest and during VMT conditions. It was found that both C(0) complexity and ApEn, but not SD of the IFC were significantly increased during the VMT challenge. The results suggest that visuomotor pathways may modulate respiratory motor pathways, because an increase in ApEn is suggestive of increased coupling or communication between (motor) systems.