The influence of affective state on respiratory muscle activity

Measures of neural respiratory drive through the use of electromyography of the parasternal intercostal muscles (EMGpara) are accurate markers of respiratory load and are reflective of pulmonary function. A previous observation of a significant reduction in EMGpara from a first to second measurement occasion was attributed to participants' acclimatization to the laboratory environment and a reduction in anxiety. This study therefore aimed to investigate whether manipulation of participants' affective state would influence EMGpara and related variables. Healthy adult participants underwent measurement of EMGpara and respiratory flow and volume during exposure to four conditions: no stimulus, music, and tense and calm videos. Respiratory rate (RR), raw neural respiratory drive index (rawNRDI, the product of EMGpara in microvolts and RR) and minute ventilation (VE) differed significantly across conditions: RR and VE were significantly higher in the tense condition than all other conditions (all P<0·05); rawNRDI was higher in the tense compared to the calm video condition (P = 0·03). There was also a significant relationship between EMGpara and subjective tension ratings (measured via visual analogue scale) in the tense condition (Spearman's rho = 0·508, P = 0·016), with multivariate modelling indicating significant interactions between rawNRDI and subjective ratings of both tension and calmness. This suggests that anxiety could contribute to elevated respiratory muscle activity and ventilation. Greater consideration should be given to the influence of anxiety when undertaking measurement of respiratory muscle activity to ensure data accurately represent underlying respiratory load.