Study Maps How Slow Nasal Breathing May Calm Anxiety

A mouse study mapped a nose-to-brain circuit that links slow nasal breathing with lower anxiety.

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A new study offers a possible explanation for why slow nasal breathing can feel calming. Researchers mapped a nose-to-brain pathway in male mice that carries signals from airflow-sensing cells in the nose through the olfactory bulb and perirhinal cortex to the amygdala, a region involved in emotional processing. The researchers found that slower nasal airflow reduced anxiety-like behavior in the mice, while faster airflow produced the opposite effect. When a key connection in the pathway was blocked, the breathing-related change in anxiety-like behavior disappeared, supporting a direct role for the circuit. The study also found that repeated low-frequency nasal stimulation reduced anxiety-like behaviors in a mouse model over a two-week period. The findings are interesting because they suggest that breathing rhythm itself can influence emotional brain circuits, rather than breathing exercises working only through conscious attention or general relaxation. However, this is still animal research. The experiments used male mice, and the results do not establish that the same circuit or effects occur in humans. Human studies will be needed to determine how much this mechanism contributes to the calming effects people report from breathing practices.

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