Abstract
Breathing agency usually defined as the feeling of control over respiration is proposed to be based on the integration of sensorimotor respiratory signals. Using Virtual Reality (VR), we propose a novel visuo-respiratory paradigm allowing the investigation of breathing motor adaptation (BMA) and breathing agency.
Thirty-six participants were embodied in a 3-D virtual avatar, using VR (see Figure). During 15-s blocks, the avatar was breathing; either in synchrony (no-delay condition) or with an additional normalized delay (varying from 1/8 to 9/8 of their breathing cycle duration). BMA and agency ratings ("Was the movement you saw your own movement? Yes/no") over the avatar’s breathing movement were recorded and analysed using robust statistics.
We found that when self-attributing the breathing movement, participants automatically adapted their breathing to the delayed visual feedback by opting for the quickest option (i.e., accelerate or decelerate their breathing to synchronise with the avatar's breathing).
Our findings are novel as they extend the existing literature on the sense of agency to new types of movements such as respiration and show a clear relationship between breathing automatic sensorimotor processes and conscious breathing agency. We strongly believe that these important findings could have crucial implications for the development of VR-based respiratory rehabilitation tools.
Footnotes
Cite this article as Eur Respir J 2022; 60: Suppl. 66, 1688.
This article was presented at the 2022 ERS International Congress, in session “-”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2022
