As part of the NELI Group Journal Club at the University of Oldenburg, I presented the following paper:
Zelano et al. (2016) — Nasal respiration entrains human limbic oscillations and modulates cognitive function
This study shows that the rhythm of nasal breathing directly entrains neural oscillations in the hippocampus and amygdala, and that this entrainment has measurable consequences for memory and emotional processing. Notably, the effects are specific to nasal breathing — oral breathing does not produce the same coupling. The findings offer a neural basis for the cognitive benefits often attributed to breath-focused practices such as meditation.