Francesca Ferri

Breathing strategies to influence perception: Evidence for interoceptive and exteroceptive active sensing Recent research indicates that humans continuously and automatically modulate their breathing to temporally align exteroceptive stimuli with specific phases of the respiratory cycle. This process has been interpreted as a form of active sensing and is associated with faster responses and improved perceptual accuracy. While converging evidence suggests that respiration also shapes interoceptive processing at both neural and behavioural levels, it remains unclear whether individuals actively adjust their breathing to optimize interoceptive performance. In this study, we examined whether healthy participants modulated their respiration during an interoceptive (heartbeat discrimination) and an exteroceptive (tactile detection) task. We analysed respiration both in terms of time-locked activity and inter-trial phase coherence relative to stimulus onset and assessed their relationship with perceptual accuracy. Our results demonstrated that participants systematically adjust their breathing in both amplitude and phase, synchronizing respiration to the anticipated (i.e., cued) onset of stimuli in both tasks. Crucially, task performance was enhanced during exhalation compared to inhalation, suggesting that respiratory modulation supports the perception of both interoceptive and exteroceptive signals. Significance statement This study reveals that humans not only synchronize their breathing to anticipated external and internal stimuli, but also perform better when perceiving them during exhalation. By showing that respiration is modulated in both interoceptive and exteroceptive contexts, our findings extend the concept of active sensing to internal bodily awareness. This has important implications for understanding the dynamic interplay between physiology and perception and may guide interventions aimed at improving clinical outcomes in conditions where interoception is disrupted. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. European Union’s HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05-01- European Excellence Initiative, 101071321 European Union - NextGenerationEU, 1409/2022, 1016

Thrilled to share our latest preprint on breathing strategies and their role in shaping interoceptive and exteroceptive perception, now available on bioRxiv!

Enjoy! 🚀

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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🚨 Early-bird deadline approaching! ⏳

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📍 Pescara, Italy | 8–12 September 2025

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Exciting announcement! 🌞🌊

The speaker lineup for Adriatica2025 is officially confirmed! 🫀🫁🧠🧘‍♀️
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Exciting News for Adriatica2025 on Brain-Body Interactions and Wellbeing!🧠🌞
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Exciting News!! 🌞🌊 Adriatica2025 Summer School on "Brain-Body Interactions and Wellbeing" is back with an impressive lineup of speakers in a stunning beachside setting! 🫀🫁🧠🧘
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A truly memorable first-time poster presentation at the MindBrainBody
Symposium #MBBS24

Thanks to all collaborators @danlikesbrains.bsky.social @bodybrainbehaviour.bsky.social @fraferri.bsky.social @costantinimarcello.bsky.social and to everyone who stopped by my poster 🫁🧠

Interested in brain-body-environment interactions and wellbeing?🧠🫀🫁💪 Join us at Adriatica 2024 Summer School with amazing speakers in a wonderful beachside setting🏖️ Registration deadline: March 4th. More details & registration here 👇
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When the heart inhibits the brain: cardiac phases modulate Short-interval intracortical inhibition The phasic cardiovascular activity influences the central nervous system through the systolic baroreceptor inputs, inducing widespread inhibitory effe…

When the heart inhibits the brain: cardiac phases modulate Short-interval intracortical inhibition
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

done! ;-)

Certainly! I apologize for the inconvenience with the link. Could you please provide me with your email address? Thank you!

🚀 New Research Alert! Congratulations to Eleonora Parrotta and the team! 🎉 Our latest studies reveal how expectations and beliefs shape heartbeat perception. Free access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

With a superb lineup of speakers including: @katerinafoto.bsky.social @tjeerdwboonstra.bsky.social @normanicgrav.bsky.social @danielemarinazzo.bsky.social @jgross.bsky.social @jameskilner.bsky.social @costantinimarcello.bsky.social @fraferri.bsky.social

Registrations are now open for Adriatica 2024 Summer School on Brain-Body-Environment Interactions and Wellbeing 🧠🫀🧘
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