Anxiety-like behavior induced by allergen is associated with decreased irregularity of breathing pattern in rats

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory disorder associated with a high prevalence of anxiety symptoms and respiratory disorders that adversely affect the quality of life. Studies have shown that allergen exposure induces anxiety-like behaviors. On the other hand, stress impairs the breathing pattern. However, the effect of stress on respiration and the relationship between anxiety-like behavior and stress-induced changes in breathing pattern has not been evaluated in AR. We assessed the impact of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced anxiety-like behaviors on stress-induced breathing pattern changes. Our findings showed that the allergic rhinitis induced by OVA challenge in sensitized rats induces anxiety-like behavior. Also, we found that stress decreases respiratory irregularity and increases respiratory variability, as well as the synchronization between IBI and RV time-series in AR animals. Moreover, in AR animals, we found a significant positive correlation between anxiety-like behavior and respiratory irregularity under non-stress conditions. Besides, a significant negative correlation was observed under stress conditions. The findings showed that anxiety-related behaviors may contribute to respiratory impairments under stress conditions in AR.