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Respiratory fluctuations in pupil diameter are not maintained during cognitive tasks
Nozomu H Nakamura1, Masaki Fukunaga2, Yoshitaka Oku1
1Division of Physiome, Department of Physiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1, Mukogawa cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology
|July 19, 2018
Summary
During cognitive tasks, task engagement overrides the natural, breathing-related pupil size changes. Respiratory influences on pupil diameter diminish when focus is high, unlike heart rate variability.
Area of Science:
- Autonomic Nervous System
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Pupil diameter naturally fluctuates with breathing, controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
- Cognitive states, like task engagement, also modulate pupil size.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if breathing-related pupil size fluctuations persist during cognitive task engagement.
- To compare autonomic control of pupil size versus heart rate variability during cognitive tasks.
Main Methods:
- Healthy subjects performed a delayed matching-to-sample task.
- Pupil sizes and R wave-to-R wave intervals (RRIs) were measured during task phases.
- Respiratory-linked fluctuations were analyzed during task engagement.
Main Results:
- Respiratory fluctuations in pupil size and RRIs were observed during task delays.
- Higher task engagement correlated with increased pupil dilation.
- During the discrimination phase, respiratory pupil fluctuations disappeared, but RRI fluctuations remained.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive task engagement can override autonomic control of pupil diameter.
- Task-related neural mechanisms influencing pupil size are distinct from respiratory-related autonomic control.
- Heart rate variability may be less affected by cognitive overrides than pupil dynamics.
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