Identification of Breathing Patterns through EEG Signal Analysis Using Machine Learning.

Yong-Gi Hong,Young-Don Son,Chang-Ki Kang,Hang-Keun Kim

doi:10.3390/brainsci11030293

Abstract

This study was to investigate the changes in brain function due to lack of oxygen (O2) caused by mouth breathing, and to suggest a method to alleviate the side effects of mouth breathing on brain function through an additional O2 supply. For this purpose, we classified the breathing patterns according to EEG signals using a machine learning technique and proposed a method to reduce the side effects of mouth breathing on brain function. Twenty subjects participated in this study, and each subject performed three different breathings: nose and mouth breathing and mouth breathing with O2 supply during a working memory task. The results showed that nose breathing guarantees normal O2 supply to the brain, but mouth breathing interrupts the O2 supply to the brain. Therefore, this comparative study of EEG signals using machine learning showed that one of the most important elements distinguishing the effects of mouth and nose breathing on brain function was the difference in O2 supply. These findings have important implications for the workplace environment, suggesting that special care is required for employees who work long hours in confined spaces such as public transport, and that a sufficient O2 supply is needed in the workplace for working efficiency.

Highlights

Breathing plays an important role in the vital activities of a person and affects many areas, such as learning ability, cognitive ability, health, and sleep
The Linear Di2s.c3r.imLiinneaanrtDAinscarliymsiisnRanatnAdonmalyFsoirsesRta(nLdDomARFFo)rest (LDARF) classifier differentiated the EEG data between the nose and mouth breathing classes with very high accuracy, suggesting that the LDARF classifier successfully extracted the differences of mouth and nose breathing from the EEG signals
Additional O2 Supply to Avoid Hazards of the Working Environment The results showed that if additional O2 supply is provided during mouth breathing, it is recognized as nose breathing, at least by the brain waves

Summary

Introduction

Breathing plays an important role in the vital activities of a person and affects many areas, such as learning ability, cognitive ability, health, and sleep. Mouth breathing has been known to be associated with side effects, such as facial shape deformation [1] and decreased learning ability [2,3], when compared to nose breathing [1,4,5]. When adolescents breathe through their mouths, they have substantial difficulty exercising working memory and arithmetic skills due to insufficient O2 supply to the brain compared to nose breathing [2,3]. The study reported that mouth breathing decreased the ability of working memory compared to nose breathing, suggesting that the biggest difference between mouth and nose breathing may be the O2 supply to the brain

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion