Relation between reaction time and the phase of spontaneous and controlled breathing patterns.

In this study simple reaction time (simple RT) to a visual stimulus of a single subject was measured during spontaneous and controlled breathing, in which the duration of expiration was prolonged (Asian technique). The phases of breathing were classified as the pause between expiration and inspiration, the inspiration phase, the transition from inspiration to expiration, and the expiration phase. Analysis of data from about 6000 trials indicated that RT to the stimulus was shortest during the transition from inspiration to expiration in controlled breathing.