Neuroscientists discover how the brain slows anxious breathing - Salk Institute for Biological Studies
www.salk.edu
LA JOLLA—Deep breath in, slow breath out… Isn’t it odd that we can self-soothe by slowing down our breathing? Humans have long used slow breathing to regulate their emotions, and practices like yoga and mindfulness have even popularized formal techniques like box breathing. Still, there has been little scientific understanding of how the brain consciously controls our breathing and whether this actually has a direct effect on our anxiety and emotional state.
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The original was posted on /r/science by /u/mvea on 2024-11-21 01:30:14+00:00.

Original Title: Scientists identify brain circuit used to consciously slow breathing and confirm this reduces anxiety and negative emotions. When the researchers artificially activated this cortex-pons-medulla circuit in mice, the animals’ breath slowed, and they showed fewer signs of anxiety.