The interplay of breathing and cognitive dysfunction Breathing exercises have known benefits physiologically, psychologically and cognitively where voluntary breathing involves a system involving autonomic, brain stem, limbuc system, cortical areas and the neuroendocrine systems. They may particularly benefit regulation of the autonomic nervous system, enhancing parasympathetic activity which may lead to psychological and cognitive benefits. They have been studied in ABIs such as stroke [1] where it is proposed "slow breathing exercise is the most helpful breathing exercise for improving cognitive function". One form of breathing, alternate nostril breathing, Pranayama, has been studied where it induced "sympathetic activation in subjects those who practiced right nostril breathing and parasympathetic activation in those who practiced left nostril breathing" leading to altered sympathovagal balance [2]. The interplay of breathing and cognitive impairment. Modified from [1] The effects of Pranayama have been studied on cognitive dimensions in healthy individuals where there are improvements in executive functioning and other domains [3] References: Kang ES, Yook JS, Ha MS. Breathing Exercises for Improving Cognitive Function in Patients with Stroke. J Clin Med. 2022 May 20;11(10):2888. doi: 10.3390/jcm11102888. 1 Pal GK, Agarwal A, Karthik S, Pal P, Nanda N. Slow yogic breathing through right and left nostril influences sympathovagal balance, heart rate variability, and cardiovascular risks in young adults. N Am J Med Sci. 2014 Mar;6(3):145-51. doi: 10.4103/1947-2714.128477. Sharma VK, M R, S V, Subramanian SK, Bhavanani AB, Madanmohan, Sahai A, Thangavel D. Effect of fast and slow pranayama practice on cognitive functions in healthy volunteers. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014 Jan;8(1):10-3. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2014/7256.3668 2