Summary: The simple act of breathing shapes how and when memories are successfully retrieved. Participants recalled learned word-image pairs more accurately when reminder cues were presented during or just before inhalation, while the brain’s actual reconstruction of the memory occurred during exhalation.
Brainwave recordings revealed that successful remembering involved reduced alpha and beta activity alongside the reactivation of original learning patterns. These findings suggest that breathing acts as a natural timing mechanism that coordinates perception and memory inside the brain.
Key Facts
- Breath-Linked Recall: Memory cues are most effective when presented during or just before inhalation.
- Exhalation Retrieval: The brain reconstructs memories primarily during exhalation.
- Neural Signatures: Successful recall involves suppressed alpha and beta waves and memory reactivation patterns.
Source: LMU
First and foremost, we breathe in order to absorb oxygen – but this vital rhythm could also have other functions.
Over the past few years, a range of studies have shown that respiration influences neural processes, including the processing of stimuli and memory processes.
LMU researchers led by Dr. Thomas Schreiner, leader of an Emmy Noether junior research group at the Department of Psychology, in collaboration with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin and the University of Oxford, have analyzed how respiration influences the retrieval of previously learned materials and recorded what happens in the brain during this process.
For the experiment, 18 participants learned to associate 120 images with certain words. The participants were then asked to recall these associations, and then asked to recall them again after a two-hour afternoon nap. While this was happening, the researchers recorded their breathing as well as their brain activity via EEG.
Respiratory rhythm helps with multi-stage remembering process
Now published in The Journal of Neuroscience, the study results show that the participants were better able to recall the words and the corresponding images when the reminder cues were presented during or just before inhalation.
“In the EEG, it becomes apparent, however, that the actual memory retrieval tends to happen during subsequent exhalation,” reports Schreiner.
“Our data thus points to a sort of functional bifurcation: Inhalation is a favorable moment to receive the reminder cue, while exhalation is a favorable moment for the actual reconstruction of the memory in the brain.”
This shows that respiratory rhythm shapes the temporal interplay of perception and effective remembering.
In the EEG recordings, the researchers found two characteristic signatures of successful remembering, which offer insights into the underlying neural patterns: One was the weakening of certain brainwaves – more specifically, alpha and beta activity.
This suggests that the brain might activate a memory and focus more strongly on retrieval. The second signature consisted of so-called memory reactivations. In successful remembering, the same neural patterns resurfaced here as were active during learning.
In the experiment, the participants concentrated wholly on the memory task while maintaining their natural respiratory rhythm.
“To find out whether useful everyday strategies can be derived from our findings, we would need studies with targeted respiratory manipulation,” says first author Esteban Bullón Tarrasó. He also notes the need for more research into older memories.
“However, the underlying mechanisms suggest that respiration also plays a role there.”
Individual variations can exist in the extent to which memory-relevant brain processes are synchronized with respiration. The researchers found differences in degree between the participants, from which they conclude that respiration is linked more efficiently to neural processes in some people than in others.
And if brain and respiration interact better, then presumably remembering works better accordingly: “Respiration is a natural pacemaker for memory processes, highlighting how closely our bodies and brains interact.”
Key Questions Answered:
A: Yes. Memory recall is stronger when reminder cues appear during or just before inhalation.
A: The reconstruction of the memory mainly occurs during exhalation.
A: Breathing rhythms appear to act as a natural timing signal that organizes perception and recall in the brain.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- Journal paper reviewed in full.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this breathing and memory research news
Author: Dominic Anders
Source: LMU
Contact: Dominic Anders – LMU
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Respiration shapes the neural dynamics of successful remembering in humans” by Thomas Schreiner et al. Journal of Neuroscience
Abstract
Respiration shapes the neural dynamics of successful remembering in humans
Respiration has been shown to impact memory retrieval, yet the neural dynamics underlying this effect remain unclear.
Here, we investigated how respiration shapes both behavioral and neural expressions of memory retrieval by re-analyzing an existing dataset where scalp electroencephalography and respiration recordings were acquired while participants (N = 18, 15 females) performed an episodic memory task.
Our results unveil that respiration influences retrieval-related power fluctuations in the ⍺/β band and concomitant memory reactivation. Specifically, we found that both key neural signatures of successful remembering were co-modulated during exhalation, with the strength of the interaction between respiration and reactivation processes being associated with memory performance.
Together, these findings suggest that respiration may act as a scaffold for episodic memory retrieval in humans by coordinating the neural conditions that support effective remembering.
