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Respiration-action coupling during self-initiated action: Evidence for action alignment with ongoing breathing.
Hiroshi Shibata1, Hideki Ohira1
1Department of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, 464-8601.
Biological Psychology
|July 13, 2026
Summary
Self-chosen actions synchronize with breathing rhythms, unlike predictable or immediate actions. Acting during inhalation also more strongly perturbs subsequent breathing patterns.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Respiratory Physiology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Voluntary actions often align with the respiratory cycle.
- The precise nature of this respiration-action coupling is debated, with uncertainty regarding whether action timing influences breathing or vice versa.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between voluntary action timing and the respiratory cycle.
- To differentiate between action timing relative to breathing and respiratory adjustments to anticipated actions.
Main Methods:
- A modified Libet clock task was employed with 29 participants.
- Three conditions were tested: Self-initiated (free choice), Delayed (predictable), and Immediate (speeded response).
- Preregistered Hilbert-based analysis and circular uniformity tests were used to analyze respiration-action coupling.
Main Results:
- Significant respiratory phase concentration at the time of key press was observed only in the Self-initiated condition.
- Time-resolved analysis revealed significant pre-keypress respiratory coupling exclusively in the Self-initiated condition.
- Actions during inhalation caused shorter, deeper subsequent breaths compared to actions during exhalation across all conditions.
Conclusions:
- Respiration-action coupling is most pronounced when action timing is self-chosen, independent of mere preparation or predictability.
- Acting during inhalation appears to induce a greater perturbation of ongoing respiratory patterns than acting during exhalation.
Keywords:
exhalation biasinteroceptionrespiration–action couplingrespiratory phaseself-initiated actiontemporal freedomMore Related Videos
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