Regulation of mental states and biofeedback techniques effects on breathing pattern

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether breathing pattern may be used as a reliable index for the effectiveness of techniques applied for the regulation of mental states. Heart rate (HR), breathing pattern, galvanic skin response (GSR), and electromyogram (EMG) of the frontalis muscl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 1995-06, Vol.20 (2), p.169-183
Main Authors: BLULENTEIN, B, BRESLAV, I, BAR-ELI, P, TENENBAUM, G, WEINSTEIN, ENG
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biofeedback, Psychology - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Eidetic Imagery
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Music Therapy
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Relaxation - physiology
Relaxation Therapy
Relaxation. Biofeedback. Hypnosis. Selfregulation. Meditation
Reproducibility of Results
Respiration - physiology
Treatments
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Summary:The purpose of the present study was to examine whether breathing pattern may be used as a reliable index for the effectiveness of techniques applied for the regulation of mental states. Heart rate (HR), breathing pattern, galvanic skin response (GSR), and electromyogram (EMG) of the frontalis muscle were measured in 39 male and female subjects aged 18-25 years during 10-minute treatment with relaxation technique (autogenic training and/or music) followed by 10 minutes of imagery training. In the first 7 sessions biofeedback (BFB) was not included, while during the last 6 sessions BFB was introduced and utilized by the subjects. Relaxation (music or autogenic training) led to a decrease in breathing frequency, attributed to lengthening of expiration time, as well as reduced HR, GSR, and frontalis EMG response. In most instances imagery training was related to an increase in these indices. Specifically, significant tachypnea was observed during imagery of sprint running. In most cases BFB substantially augmented the physiological responses. In conclusion, our data suggest that, compared with HR, GSR, and EMG responses, the breathing pattern is at least as sensitive to the mental techniques employed, and may be useful as a psychophysiological index for diagnosis and testing, especially in sport practice.
ISSN:0363-3586
1573-3270
DOI:10.1007/BF01720972