(Published in 2018)
This paper discusses the relationship between breathwork and the vagus nerve, highlighting the role of breath in activating the body's relaxation response. Read the full paper HERE.
Figure 1.
Panel (A) represents an overview of the respiratory vagal nerve stimulation (rVNS) model of ContAct. See the text body for more details. There are two pathways through which respiration style stimulates VN: direct and indirect (biofeedback through afferent projections), shown in (B,C) respectively. (D) The tonic changes in the networks and the long-term effects. Color coding: red = VN, blue = other anatomy, purple = physiology, green = function, dark blue = direct route, orange = indirect route. Arrow-ends represent role: triangle = activating or increasing, circle = deactivating or decreasing, bladed = structural increase, ellipsis = structural decrease, diamond = afferent. Numbers on lines represent the temporal sequence during stimulation and the thickness of lines the phasic relative synaptic weight of the connection as a result. The dashed line represents the hypothetical afferent pathway of the thoracic/abdominal ratio to VN. RR, respiration rate; I/E, inhalation/exhalation ratio; T/A, thoracic/abdominal respiration ratio; HR, heart rate; HRV, heart rate variability; INF, inflammation state; SNS, sympathetic nervous system; HPA, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis; CAN, central autonomous network; DMN, default mode network.
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