Abstract
Cognition is shaped by signals from outside and within the body. Following recent evidence of interoceptive signals modulating higher-level cognition, we examined whether breathing changes the production and perception of quantities. In Experiment 1, 22 adults verbally produced on average larger random numbers after inhaling than after exhaling. In Experiment 2, 24 further adults estimated the numerosity of dot patterns that were briefly shown after either inhaling or exhaling. Again, we obtained on average larger responses following inhalation than exhalation. These converging results extend models of situated cognition according to which higher-level cognition is sensitive to transient interoceptive states.
Highlights
Cognition refers to the mental activities of higher living systems and includes component processes such as attention allocation, stimulus encoding, memory consolidation, knowledge retrieval, motor production, and others (e.g., Ashcraft and Radvansky 2017; Sternberg and Sternberg 2016)
Given this recent surge of evidence for an impact of autonomous bodily rhythms on stimulus encoding and action production, as well as an advanced understanding of respiratory control mechanisms (Del Negro et al 2018; Yackle et al 2017), we aimed to investigate the impact of our breathing rhythm on higher cognitive processes
Participants generated more large numbers such as 9 or 10 following inhalation and more small numbers such as 1 or 2 following exhalation. This previously uncontrolled aspect of performance in the widely used random number generation (RNG) task was predicted from an embodied cognition perspective according to which all cognitive performance is affected by bodily signals
Summary
Cognition refers to the mental activities of higher living systems and includes component processes such as attention allocation, stimulus encoding, memory consolidation, knowledge retrieval, motor production, and others (e.g., Ashcraft and Radvansky 2017; Sternberg and Sternberg 2016). We initiate voluntary actions more frequently during the exhalation or expiration phase of breathing compared to the inhalation or inspiration phase (Park et al 2020) Given this recent surge of evidence for an impact of autonomous bodily rhythms on stimulus encoding and action production, as well as an advanced understanding of respiratory control mechanisms (Del Negro et al 2018; Yackle et al 2017), we aimed to investigate the impact of our breathing rhythm on higher cognitive processes
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