CiNet Monthly Seminar

December 12 (Fri.), 2025
14:00-15:00 (JST)
at the Conference Room in the CiNet bldg.

Talk title: Cognitive and Physiological Links Between Mind and Breathing

Jun Kunimatsu
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

Host : Atsushi Yokoi

Abstract:
In practices such as meditation and yoga, consciously regulating one’s breathing helps control mental states. While this effect is familiar to many of us, it has been understood primarily through experience, and the underlying scientific mechanisms remain largely unexplored. One major reason for this gap is the lack of animal models capable of voluntary breathing under experimental control. Recently, we developed a behavioral paradigm that enables macaque monkeys to perform voluntary breathing, allowing us to investigate the relationship between respiratory control and cognitive function. In this seminar, I will introduce our recent findings on the role of breathing in movement and speech, and share the latest insights into how breathing influences the regulation of the mind.