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Observable differences in electrophysiological markers of respiratory vagal nerve stimulation in deep breathing mindfulness training.

Poster Session F - Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Dr Alexandra Roach¹ (alexandraro@usca.edu), Rayne Szilveszter¹, Jordyn Kellogg¹, Malia Patten¹, Star Boyd¹; ¹Univ of South Carolina Aiken

Deep breathing exercises, a core component of mindfulness practices, stimulate the vagus nerve. Because the vagus nerve innervates the majority of nerves in the Parasympathetic Nervous System, stimulation of this nerve pair can influence widespread processes including heart rate variability, blood pressure, respiration, and pain perception. Therefore, the vagus nerve has been the target of therapies for mood, pain, immune system, digestion, and other homeostatic processes. In this study, we used Biopac Bionomadix wireless transmitters to collect physiological data including electrocardiogram (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), electromyography (EMG), respiration, and pulse during a stress test. These physiological measures can be used to evaluate levels of stress placed on the nervous system. In this between-subjects design, we used a dolorimeter to introduce stress (pain) to establish pain threshold and tolerance. Perceived pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale at baseline, during vagal nerve stimulation (or control), and post. Vagal nerve stimulation was achieved through deep breathing mindfulness training, using a square breathing technique. The control group spent comparable time in undirected quiet. Physiological data were recorded continuously and processed using AcqKnowledge Data Acquisition and Analysis Software (Biopac). For heart rate variability, we used the NN interval derived from ECG. For EMG data, we used the trapezius muscle electrode placement. Preliminary data show that physiological measures are correlated with perceived pain ratings. Further analysis shows that the physiological difference between baseline and deep breathing, compared to baseline and undirected quiet, was greater, indicating that perceived pain was attenuated by the square breathing.

Topic Area: METHODS: Electrophysiology