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Effects of mental tasks on the cardiorespiratory synchronization
Jianbao Zhang1, Xiaolin Yu, Dongdong Xie
1Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Education Ministry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China. zhangjb@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
|November 20, 2009
Summary
Mental tasks disrupt cardiorespiratory synchronization by altering heart rate and breathing. The cerebral cortex influences this interaction, impacting autonomic nervous system activity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Respiratory Physiology
Background:
- Cardiovascular and respiratory systems exhibit functional interdependence.
- The influence of the cerebral cortex on cardiorespiratory synchronization remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of a mental task on cardiorespiratory synchronization.
- To explore the role of the cerebral cortex and autonomic nervous system in modulating cardiorespiratory interactions.
Main Methods:
- Collected electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and respiratory signals (RES) from 29 healthy males.
- Utilized mental arithmetic (MA) tasks to induce cognitive load.
- Employed synchrogram analysis to quantify cardiorespiratory synchronization epochs.
Main Results:
- MA task significantly increased breath rate, heart rate, and theta-band EEG power at specific electrodes (FC3, FC4, C4).
- The duration of cardiorespiratory synchronization epochs decreased during the MA task.
- Synchronization epoch duration negatively correlated with theta-band EEG power and sympathetic activity.
Conclusions:
- The cerebral cortex and autonomic nervous system are involved in altering cardiorespiratory synchronization during cognitive tasks.
- Mental tasks can modulate the intricate relationship between heart rate and respiration.
- Findings suggest a neural basis for cognitive influence on cardiorespiratory coupling.
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