Neuroscience: Breathe in, fear out.
Current biology : CB March 24, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.001 via PubMed
Summary
Slowly paced breathing, central to practices like yoga and meditation, influences emotions such as anxiety. Neuroscience research in mice has identified a neural circuit connecting the neocortex to the brainstem that modulates breathing and affects anxiety levels.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mice |
| Key finding | A circuit from the neocortex to the brainstem modulates breathing and influences anxiety. |
Abstract
Slowly paced breathing underlies mind-body practices like yoga and meditation. Neuroscience is beginning to unravel the mechanisms underlying breathing and emotions, such as anxiety. Now a circuit from the neocortex to the primordial brainstem has been identified in mice, which modulates breathing and influences anxiety.