Our breathing patterns, and their resulting impacts on the brain, can strengthen or weaken our memory-forming powers, new research reveals – and the findings could potentially help in the treatment of brain disorders and mental health problems.
The body’s natural and spontaneous breathing behavior is known as medullary respiratory activity, after the medulla oblongata – the breathing control center of the brain. Of particular importance are a small cluster of neurons in what is known as the Pre-Bötzinger Complex (PreBötC), which sit inside the medulla oblongata.
“Breathing is a fundamental action in life support in mammals,” says neuroscientist Nozomu Nakamura, from Hyogo Medical University in Japan. “Although details of respiratory function on brain states remain unclear, recent studies suggest that respiration may play an important role during online brain states.”
In this new study, scientists interfered with the PreBötC in genetically modified mice. They found that when they temporarily stopped the mice from breathing, the animals were less able to form important memories during object recognition and fear conditioning tests.
American Buddhist Net 