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Assessing Attentional Control of Breathing by Reaction Time
Author(s) -
Gallego Jorge,
Perruchet Pierre,
Camus JeanFrançlois
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb00413.x
Subject(s) - breathing , stimulus (psychology) , expiration , audiology , psychology , anesthesia , attentional control , medicine , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , respiratory system , cognition , psychiatry
ABSTRACT The reaction time (RT) to an auditory stimulus was measured in 27 subjects during spontaneous breathing and during controlled breathing, which consisted of maintaining a set inspiratory duration. During spontaneous breathing, reaction times were unrelated to the time the stimulus was delivered during the breathing cycle. During controlled breathing, reaction times were longer than during spontaneous breathing. Peak reaction times were observed at the transition from inspiration to expiration. After the end of controlled breathing, reaction times gradually became shorter until they reached their initial level. The findings are discussed in terms of varying allocation of attentional resources to breathing. It is argued that probe RT methodology provides a suitable means for investigating attentional control of breathing.