title: Respiration, metabolic balance, and attention in affective picture processing.
abstract: The respiratory behavior during affective states is not completely understood. We studied breathing pattern responses to picture series in 37 participants. We also measured end-tidal pCO2 (EtCO2) to determine if ventilation is in balance with metabolic demands and spontaneous eye-blinking to investigate the link between respiration and attention. Minute ventilation (MV) and inspiratory drive increased with self-rated arousal. These relationships reflected increases in inspiratory volume rather than shortening of the time parameters. EtCO2 covaried with pleasantness but not arousal. Eye-blink rate decreased with increasing unpleasantness in line with a negativity bias in attention. This study confirms that respiratory responses to affective stimuli are organized to a certain degree along the dimensions of valence and arousal. It shows, for the first time, that during picture viewing, ventilatory increases with increasing arousal are in balance with metabolic activity and that inspiratory volume is modulated by arousal. MV emerges as the most reliable respiratory index of self-perceived arousal.
authors.affiliation: Institut universitaire romand de Santé au Travail (Institute for Work and Health), University of Lausanne & University of Geneva, Rue du Bugnon 21, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland. patrick.gomez@hospvd.ch
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Samiha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shafy
authors.forename: Brigitta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Danuser
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D010991:Plethysmography / Q000379:methods; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology; D012119:Respiration; D013990:Tidal Volume / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide