THE EFFECT OF ATTENTIONAL LOAD ON THE BREATHING PATTERN IN CHILDREN

Experiments designed to establish the effects of video games on breath ing patterns have led to contradictory results. Several authors report ed that video games tended to increase breathing frequency (i.e. to re duce breath duration), whereas others reported the opposite. We postul ated that video games contain different psychophysiological components which may have opposite effects on breathing pattern. On the one hand , arousal and emotion may tend to stimulate breathing. On the other, f ocusing attention on the game may prompt subject to inhibit any moveme nt - including breathing - which might be a potential nuisance variabl e. The aim of this study was to assess the specific effects of the att entional load in an experimental environment characterized by its low emotional impact. We measured breathing variables, cardiac frequency a nd cortisol levels in 10 healthy children (mean age = 9.2 +/- 1.5 year s) who were familiar with the environment, the experimenter and the vi deo game. Breath duration rose significantly, from 2.56 to 3.16 s, as a function of game difficulty. Cortisol levels, heart rate and the tho racic contribution to breathing displayed no significant changes. Take n together, these data suggest that focusing attention on the game ten ded to inhibit breathing and that previous contradictory reports in th is respect were due to the confounding effects of emotion. (C) 1998 El sevier Science B.V.