Slow breathing impacts inter-organ dynamics modulating brain function and risk behavior.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Physiology

Background:

• Decision-making integrates external information with internal bodily states.
• Autonomic state modification can influence world evaluation and choices.
• The impact of intentional autonomic regulation on human decision-making is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if instructed prolonged exhalation, a slow-breathing technique, affects risky decision-making.
• To explore the neuro-cardiac mechanisms underlying breathing-induced decision-making changes.

Main Methods:

• Participants engaged in risky decision-making tasks under different breathing protocols.
• Neural activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
• Physiological data, including cardiac activity, were monitored.

Main Results:

• Prolonged exhalation led to increased risky choices.
• This was associated with enhanced reward sensitivity and elevated cardiac parasympathetic activity.
• Greater parasympathetic upregulation correlated with stronger reward-related brain responses in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and precuneus.

Conclusions:

• Breathing-based interventions, specifically prolonged exhalation, can significantly shape value-based decision-making.
• Autonomic regulation via breathing influences choices through neuro-cardiac pathways.
• This highlights the potential of breathing techniques as tools for modulating decision-making processes.