Monday, June 05, 2023

Our breath influences our neural activity, which in turn, impacts our cognitive functions including attention, memory recall, and emotional processing. 











Credit: Neuroscience News

Featured Neuroscience· May 28, 2023

Summary: Intricate links between breathing and memory recall have been unraveled by recent scientific research, painting a more complex picture of our cognitive processes.


Studies reveal that the rhythm of our breathing can influence neural activity, impacting cognitive functions such as emotional processing and memory recall.

The most compelling evidence highlights that inhalation, particularly through the nose, can improve memory function. As this field of study emerges, these insights could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for cognitive decline and memory-related conditions.

Key Facts:
The rhythm of our breathing creates electrical activity in the brain, enhancing emotional judgment and memory recall, with this effect being most pronounced during inhalation through the nose.

The amygdala and hippocampus, brain areas linked to emotion and memory, are significantly affected by the rhythm of breathing, suggesting that the act of breathing can modulate the functions of these regions.

Deep, controlled breathing, often used in mindfulness practices, can improve working memory capacity, the kind of memory we use to hold and manipulate information over short periods.
Source: Neuroscience News


Breathing: it’s an automatic process we often don’t give a second thought. Yet recent scientific discoveries have begun to shed light on a fascinating relationship between breathing and memory function.

Our breath influences our neural activity, which in turn, impacts our cognitive functions including attention, memory recall, and emotional processing.

The rhythm of our breathing creates electrical activity in the brain that contributes to the enhancement of emotional judgments and memory recall.


In fact, a study led by Christina Zelano at Northwestern University demonstrated that the act of breathing, specifically through the nose, can have a direct impact on cognitive functions such as memory recall.
Credit: Neuroscience News

Zelano’s research team carried out a series of experiments involving human subjects and found that memory recall was significantly better during inhalation compared to exhalation. This effect was most pronounced when the subjects were breathing through their noses.

The study showed that the rhythm of breathing can induce changes in the brain, enhancing the emotional judgment and improving memory recall.

Furthermore, the amygdala and the hippocampus, two brain regions linked to emotion, memory function, and smell, are significantly affected by the breathing rhythm.

These areas of the brain are part of the limbic system, which controls emotions and memory. It’s thought that the act of breathing may modulate the functions of these brain regions, thereby influencing memory and emotional processing.

Moreover, the act of controlled, deep breathing, often utilized in mindfulness and meditation practices, has been shown to enhance memory recall.

A study published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology showed that mindfulness-based attention, which involves focusing on one’s breathing, increases the ability to maintain visuospatial information over short periods.

This suggests that deep, controlled breathing can improve working memory capacity, the kind of memory we use to hold and manipulate information in our minds over short periods.

While the relationship between breathing and memory remains an emerging field, these findings suggest exciting possibilities for future research and potential therapeutic applications.

Understanding the impact of breathing on memory could have implications for interventions related to cognitive decline, stress, anxiety, and conditions such as ADHD and Alzheimer’s disease.

In conclusion, it seems that the simple act of breathing, often taken for granted, can play a significant role in our cognitive functions, specifically memory recall.

So next time you’re struggling to remember something, take a moment, take a deep breath, and see if it helps. It appears our breath holds more power over our brains than we might think.
About this neuroscience and memory research news

Author: Neuroscience News Communications
Source: Neuroscience News
Contact: Neuroscience News Communications – Neuroscience News
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Citations:

Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function” by Christina Zelano et al. Journal of Neuroscience

Mindfulness, Movement Control, and Attentional Focus Strategies: Effects of Mindfulness on a Postural Balance Task” by Kee et al. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Respiration modulates olfactory memory consolidation in humans” by Artin Arshamian, Behzad Iravani, Asifa Majid and Johan N. Lundström in Journal of Neuroscience.

Reduced Oxygen Intake Linked to Extended Lifespan


Neuroscience Articles· May 23, 2023

Summary: Researchers revealed a correlation between reduced oxygen intake, or ‘oxygen restriction,’ and extended lifespan in lab mice.


The study found that mice in an oxygen-restricted environment lived about 50% longer than those in normal oxygen levels. The oxygen-restricted mice also experienced delayed onset of aging-associated neurological deficits.

The study, however, did not establish the exact mechanism through which oxygen restriction prolongs lifespan.

Key Facts:
This is the first study to demonstrate that ‘oxygen restriction’ extends lifespan in a mammalian aging model.
Mice in an oxygen-restricted environment lived about 50% longer and had delayed onset of aging-associated neurological deficits.
The researchers found that oxygen restriction did not affect food intake, suggesting that other mechanisms extend the lifespan of the mice.
Source: PLOS

For the first time, researchers have shown that reduced oxygen intake, or “oxygen restriction,” is associated with longer lifespan in lab mice, highlighting its anti-aging potential. Robert Rogers of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues present these findings in a study published May 23rd in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

Research efforts to extend healthy lifespan have identified a number of chemical compounds and other interventions that show promising effects in mammalian lab animals— for instance, the drug metformin or dietary restriction.

Oxygen restriction has also been linked to longer lifespan in yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies. However, its effects in mammals have been unknown.

To explore the anti-aging potential of oxygen restriction in mammals, Rogers and colleagues conducted lab experiments with mice bred to age more quickly than other mice while showing classic signs of mammalian aging throughout their bodies.
The oxygen-restricted mice also had delayed onset of aging-associated neurological deficits. Credit: Neuroscience News

The researchers compared the lifespans of mice living at normal atmospheric oxygen levels (about 21%) to the lifespans of mice that, at 4 weeks of age, had been moved to a living environment with a lower proportion of oxygen (11%—similar to that experienced at an altitude of 5000 meters).


They found that the mice in the oxygen-restricted environment lived about 50% longer than the mice in normal oxygen levels, with a median lifespan of 23.6 weeks compared to 15.7 weeks. The oxygen-restricted mice also had delayed onset of aging-associated neurological deficits.

Prior research has shown that dietary restriction extends the lifespan of the same kind of fast-aging mice used in this new study. Therefore, the researchers wondered if oxygen restriction extended their lifespan simply by causing the mice to eat more. However, they found that oxygen restriction did not affect food intake, suggesting other mechanisms were at play.

These findings support the anti-aging potential of oxygen restriction in mammals, perhaps including humans. However, extensive additional research will be needed to clarify its potential benefits and illuminate the molecular mechanisms by which it operates.


Rogers adds, “We find that chronic continuous hypoxia (11% oxygen, equivalent to what would be experienced at Everest Base Camp) extends lifespan by 50% and delays the onset of neurologic debility in a mouse aging model.

“While caloric restriction is the most widely effective and well-studied intervention to increase lifespan and healthspan, this is the first time that ‘oxygen restriction’ has been demonstrated as beneficial in a mammalian aging model.”

About this longevity research news


Author: Robert Rogers
Source: PLOS
Contact: Robert Rogers – PLOS
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
Hypoxia extends lifespan and neurological function in a mouse model of aging” by Robert Rogers et al. PLOS Biology

Abstract

Hypoxia extends lifespan and neurological function in a mouse model of aging

There is widespread interest in identifying interventions that extend healthy lifespan. Chronic continuous hypoxia delays the onset of replicative senescence in cultured cells and extends lifespan in yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies.

Here, we asked whether chronic continuous hypoxia is beneficial in mammalian aging.

We utilized the Ercc1 Δ/- mouse model of accelerated aging given that these mice are born developmentally normal but exhibit anatomic, physiological, and biochemical features of aging across multiple organs.


Importantly, they exhibit a shortened lifespan that is extended by dietary restriction, the most potent aging intervention across many organisms.

We report that chronic continuous 11% oxygen commenced at 4 weeks of age extends lifespan by 50% and delays the onset of neurological debility in Ercc1 Δ/- mice.

Chronic continuous hypoxia did not impact food intake and did not significantly affect markers of DNA damage or senescence, suggesting that hypoxia did not simply alleviate the proximal effects of the Ercc1 mutation, but rather acted downstream via unknown mechanisms.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that “oxygen restriction” can extend lifespan in a mammalian model of aging.

Eight Lectures on Yoga
by Mahatma Guru Sri Paramahansa Shivaji (Aleister Crowley)

Aleister Crowley has achieved the reputation of being a master of the English language. This book which is as fresh and vibrant today as when it was penned over thirty years ago demonstrates this fact. It shows how impossible it is to categorize him as a particular kind of stylist. At turns he can be satirical, poetical, sarcastic, rhetorical, philosophical or mystical, gliding so easily from one to the other that the average reader is hard put to determine whether or not to take him at face value.

His description of mystical states of consciousness clarifies what tomes of more erudite writing fails to elucidate. It is in effect a continuation of Part I of Book 4 brought to maturity. Nearly three decades had elapsed between the writing of these two books, in which time his own inner development had soared ineffably. A great deal of what he has to say may seem prosaic at first sight, but do not be fooled by this. Other of his comments are profound beyond belief, requiring careful and long meditation if full value is to be derived from them.

This is not a book to be read while standing or running. It is a high water mark of Crowley’s literary career, incorporating all that we should expect from one who had experimented with and mastered most technical forms of spiritual growth. There is humor here, a great deal of sagacity, and much practical advice. This book cannot be dispensed with for the student for whom Yoga is ‘the way.’

Israel Regardie
March 21, 1969
Studio City, CA


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