Cited by 38Neuroscience of respiration and sleepHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlPsychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Respiratory modulation of startle eye blink: a new approach to assess afferent signals from the respiratory system

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Schulz, André, Schilling, Thomas M., Vögele, Claus, Larra, Mauro F., Schächinger, Hartmut·2016·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Abstract

Current approaches to assess interoception of respiratory functions cannot differentiate between the physiological basis of interoception, i.e. visceral-afferent signal processing, and the psychological process of attention focusing. Furthermore, they typically involve invasive procedures, e.g. induction of respiratory occlusions or the inhalation of CO 2 -enriched air. The aim of this study was to test the capacity of startle methodology to reflect respiratory-related afferent signal processing, independent of invasive procedures. Forty-two healthy participants were tested in a spontaneous breathing and in a 0.25 Hz paced breathing condition. Acoustic startle noises of 105 dB(A) intensity (50 ms white noise) were presented with identical trial frequency at peak and on-going inspiration and expiration, based on a new pattern detection method, involving the online processing of the respiratory belt signal. The results show the highest startle magnitudes during on-going expiration compared with any other measurement points during the respiratory cycle, independent of whether breathing was spontaneous or paced. Afferent signals from slow adapting phasic pulmonary stretch receptors may be responsible for this effect. This study is the first to demonstrate startle modulation by respiration. These results offer the potential to apply startle methodology in the non-invasive testing of interoception-related aspects in respiratory psychophysiology. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health’.

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Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2016.0019

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  1. [52]52. Lorig TS. 2007 Respiration. In Handbook of psychophysiology, 3rd edn (eds JT Cacioppo, LG Tassinary, GG Berntson), pp. 231-244. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Authors
Schulz, A., Schilling, T. M., Vögele, C., Larra, M. F., & Schächinger, H.
Affiliations
  • University of Luxembourg (LU)
  • Universität Trier (DE)
Corresponding author
Schulz, André
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published
2016-11-19
Volume
371
Issue
1708
Pages
20160019
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
OpenAlex
W2530426838
Cited by
38
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1
FWCI
1.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Luxembourg) (submittedVersion)
Funders
University of Trier Research Funds (Modulation of startle response by visceral stress)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroscience of respiration and sleep
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
Keywords
respiratory modulation, interoception, pulmonary stretch receptors, paced breathing, spontaneous breathing, expiration, acoustic startle response, non-invasive assessment
MeSH terms
Adult, Attention, Blinking, Female, Humans, Male, Psychophysiology, Respiration, Young Adult, Interoception

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