# The alignment of respiration to sensory-motor events is shaped by expected effort

## TL;DR

People adjust their breathing to match important or challenging tasks, using it as a tool to better focus and perform.

## Contribution

Respiration is actively modulated trial-by-trial based on anticipated effort, not just passive entrainment.

## Key findings

- Respiration aligns more with high-value and high-difficulty trials.
- Breathing is modulated by task deadlines and perceived effort.
- Respiration serves as a strategic mechanism for cognitive resource allocation.

## Abstract

Humans often align their respiration with external events, which may optimize neural resources for perception and action. This may adjust neurophysiological processes related to neural excitation, attention, or arousal to optimize task performance. However, it remains unclear whether this alignment is a passive entrainment to a task’s overall rhythm or an active process selectively aligning respiration more to highly demanding events. We tested this by recording respiration during three visual discrimination experiments that manipulated the importance of individual trials by imposing response deadlines or manipulating trial value and difficulty. We found that participants align their respiration more consistently for trials with short deadlines or trials presenting high-value and high-difficulty. This demonstrates that respiratory alignment is dynamically modulated on a trial-by-trial basis according to anticipated effort or task demands. Hence, respiration serves as an active tool to strategically allocate cognitive resources for sensory-motor challenges.

•Humans tend to align their respiration with external events•How actively and selectively they do this remains unclear•We find that this occurs particularly for high-value and or high-difficulty situations•Respiration strategically allocates cognitive resources for upcoming challenges

Humans tend to align their respiration with external events

How actively and selectively they do this remains unclear

We find that this occurs particularly for high-value and or high-difficulty situations

Respiration strategically allocates cognitive resources for upcoming challenges

Neuroscience; behavioral neuroscience; cognitive neuroscience