Karolinska Institutet researchers have shown that subjects who breathe through the nose consolidate their memories better. In this study subjects learned 12 different smells on two separate occasions, and then were asked to either breathe through their noses or mouths for one hour. After an hour subjects were presented with the old smells as well as a new set of 12 smells and identified whether each one was from the old or new learning session. According to the researchers nose breathing subjects remembered the smells better.
Next phase of study will be to measure what happens in the brain during breathing and how it is linked to memory. A new means of measuring activity in the olfactory bulb and brain will be using that doesn’t require having to insert electrodes into the brain. Research shows receptors in the olfactory bulb detect smells and variations in airflow. Different phases of inhalation and exhalation activates different parts of the brain. How the synchronisation of breathing and brain activity happens, and how it affects the brain and behaviour is unknown.
The idea of breathing affecting behaviour is not a new one; importance of breathing is stressed in traditional medicines and for thousands of years in meditation. But it has not yet been scientifically proven what actually happens in the brain. Researchers hope to answer these questions now that there are tools to help reveal the clinical knowledge.
