A research group led by Assistant Professor Nozomu Nakamura of Hyogo College of Medicine found that by examining human brain activity, ``the timing of inhalation reduces the activity of the brain regions that control concentration and attention, and cognitive functions do not work well. "It revealed that.
Breathing rhythms and differences in their phases have various effects on the body and brain.In particular, it is known that the respiratory phase is ``adjusted at a specific timing in association with the activity of the cerebral cortex'' in the case of acquisition of sensory information from the outside and voluntary movement.
In a previous study, the research group clarified that performing memory recall during the onset of inspiration (EI metastatic phase) caused a decline in performance.Therefore, this time, in order to investigate "what happens in the brain" at the moment of breathing, fMRI (fMRI), which can take 25D images of brain activity over time, was performed on 3 healthy male and female subjects. functional magnetic resonance imaging).
As a result, it was found that the timing of inhalation decreased activity in the brain (right temporoparietal junction, right middle frontal gyrus, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex), resulting in distracted concentration rather than memory itself. rice field.As a result, it is thought that human beings lose their concentration and attention at the moment of breathing, causing various cognitive declines such as poor memory and poor judgment.
In the future, as an effort to improve memory and cognition, we will improve concentration and attention by skillfully leading breathing, and ultimately, not only daily life, work, and study, but also sports, driving a car, etc. It is expected to help improve performance in all areas.
Paper information:[Cerebral Cortex Communications] Respiration-timing-dependent changes in activation of neural substrates during cognitive processes
