How breathing affects emotions and anxiety
Official title: RESPIRATORY CONTROL AND EMOTION REGULATION
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11128804 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is looking at how brain circuits that control breathing influence anxiety, fear, and panic to help people with anxiety-related problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | September 19, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $741,000 |
| NIH project number | 4R01AT012412-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11128804 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This project does not enroll people; its findings are intended to help people with anxiety, panic disorder, or fear-related conditions in the future.
✕Less likely to help
People with health problems unrelated to breathing or emotional regulation (for example, isolated orthopedic conditions) are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this preclinical work.
What this research studies
Researchers will use mice to map the brain pathways that connect the breathing rhythm generator in the medulla (the preBötzinger Complex) to higher brain areas such as the locus coeruleus. They will combine behavioral tests, physiological measures (including breathing and blood-gas related signals), and anatomical tracing to see how these pathways change anxiety-, fear-, and panic-like behaviors. The team will manipulate specific neural projections to observe how altering breathing-related signals affects emotional responses. The goal is to learn how controlled breathing changes brain circuits so future treatments can target those pathways.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new breathing-based or brain-targeted therapies for anxiety, panic, and other debilitating negative emotional states.
How similar studies have gone: Controlled-breathing practices have shown benefits for anxiety in humans, but mapping and manipulating the specific mouse circuits from the preBötzinger Complex to the locus coeruleus is a novel preclinical approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Feldman, Jack L — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Feldman, Jack L
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.