Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive indicator of autonomic control. This study examines HRV changes across a normal menstrual cycle and proposes a novel piecewise function controlling for the effects of breathing on HRV spectral parameters. A resting ECG was collected from 13 women at five points in their menstrual cycle. Both heart rate and breathing rate increased across the cycle (...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To assess the accuracy of the respiratory inductive plethysmography in the measurement of PEEP-induced changes in end-expiratory lung volume during mechanical ventilation and its accuracy and stability in the measurement of ventilation during controlled mechanical ventilation and spontaneous breathing. DESIGN An open comparison between two methods using a criterion standard. E...

Slow, controlled breathing has been used for centuries to promote mental calming, and it is used clinically to suppress excessive arousal such as panic attacks. However, the physiological and neural basis of the relationship between breathing and higher-order brain activity is unknown. We found a neuronal subpopulation in the mouse preBötzinger complex (preBötC), the primary breathing rhythm ge...

Electrical stimulation (EStim) refers to the application of electrical current to muscles or nerves in order to achieve functional and therapeutic goals. It has been extensively used in various clinical settings. Based upon recent discoveries related to the systemic effects of voluntary breathing and intrinsic physiological interactions among systems during voluntary breathing, a new EStim prot...

The aim of this study was to compare exhaled nitric oxide concentrations obtained during controlled slow exhalation, presently considered as the method of choice, with two sampling methods that are easily performed by children: blowing air into a balloon and tidal breathing through a mouthpiece. One hundred and one well controlled, stable allergic asthmatic children (median age 11.7 yrs) perfor...

BACKGROUND It is known that automatic breathing is controlled by centres in the lower brain stem, whereas volitional breathing is controlled by the cerebral cortical centres. In hemiplegia, lesions above the brain stem result in paralysis of limb muscles. This study was performed to determine whether the diaphragm might also be affected in patients with hemiplegia. METHODS Studies were perfor...