Dyspnoea modifies the recognition of fearful expressions by healthy humans

Brainstem neural oscillators normally generate resting breathing. Yet cortical premotor and motor respiratory-related networks can operate voluntary breathing and compensate for defective automatic respiratory drive [1, 2]. These networks are engaged when the respiratory system load-capacity balance is compromised, typically during experimental inspiratory loading [3] that is associated with dyspnoea of the “excessive inspiratory effort” type. An emerging body of evidence suggests that respiratory-related cortical activation (and by extension the corresponding dyspnoea) can have a cognitive cost [4–6], thought to derive from competition for resources (dual-tasking) or attentional distraction. Of note, dyspnoea can also occur in response to carbon dioxide (CO2) stimulation; in this instance, the dyspnoea is not associated with motor respiratory-related cortical activation [3] but with intense activation of limbic regions of the brain, including the insular cortex [7]. This provokes air hunger and strong emotional reactions that could interfere with the capacity to process concurrent emotions. Here we tested the hypothesis that inspiratory loading and hypercapnic stimulation affect executive and emotional processing tasks and do so in different ways. Do respiratory diseases alter emotional interactions? Becoming dyspnoeic distorts our identification of others' fear http://ow.ly/JkxF30hJGFH