Effect of practice on the voluntary control of a learned breathing pattern

Changes in orientation of attention and ventilatory data were examined in three normal volunteers who practiced a learned ventilatory pattern over eight training sessions. The breathing task was a voluntary increase of inspiratory duration up to a given target with the aid of informative feedback on this variable. The orientation of attention was investigated through reaction time (RT) to auditory stimuli presented at different points in inspiration and expiration, during either automatic or voluntary control of breathing. Findings show that RTs are longer during voluntary than automatic breathing throughout the experiment, and that they decrease across sessions in both conditions. In the first sessions, RTs were longer during expiration than inspiration but this difference cancels out in the last sessions. The results are discussed in terms of attentional demands of control of breathing, automatization, and the connection between automatic and voluntary control of breathing. This work shows that after eight practice sessions, the orientation of attention displays significant changes; however, the control of breathing remains attention demanding.