Abstract
Voluntary apnea showcases extreme human adaptability in trained individuals like professional free divers. We evaluated the psychological and physiological adaptation and the functional cerebral changes using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to 6.5 min of dry static apnea performed by a world champion free diver. Compared to resting state at baseline, breath holding was characterized by increased EEG power and functional connectivity in the alpha band, along with decreased delta band connectivity. fMRI connectivity was increased within the default mode network (DMN) and visual areas but decreased in pre- and postcentral cortices. While these changes occurred in regions overlapping with cerebral signatures of several meditation practices, they also display some unique features that suggest an altered somatosensory integration. As suggested by self-reports, these findings could reflect the ability of elite free divers to create a state of sensory dissociation when performing prolonged apnea.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the whole staff from the Radiodiagnostic department of the University Hospital of Liège for the help in data acquisition and Benedetta Cecconi for the helpful discussion.
Funding
The study was supported by the University and University Hospital of Liège, the Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under the Specific Grant Agreement No. 945539 (Human Brain Project SGA3), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) in the framework of the PRODEX Programme, the Bial Foundation, the Mind Science Foundation, the fund Generet of the King Baudouin Foundation, the Mind-Care foundation and AstraZeneca Foundation. RP and LS are research fellows, OG is research associate, and SL is research director at FRS-FNRS.
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JA, RP, AP, SL and OG designed research. JA, AP, CM, GN, DL and SL acquired the data. JA, RP and AP analysed the data. JA, RP, CM, AP, LRDS, JMV-V, SL and OG interpreted the results. SL and OG supervised research. JA drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to result interpretation and the editing of the manuscript.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the senior author (Olivia Gosseries (ogosseries@uliege.be) and Steven Laureys (Steven.Laureys@uliege.be) from University of Liege) upon reasonable request.
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The EEGLAB toolbox code used for EEG pre-processing analyses is freely available online (https://sccn.ucsd.edu/eeglab/download.php). The Fieldtrip toolbox code used for EEG frequency analyses and EEG connectivity analyses is freely available online (https://www.fieldtriptoolbox.org/download/).The CONN toolbox code used for fMRI connectivity analyses is freely available online (http://www.nitrc.org/projects/conn). The “Surf Ice” code used for fMRI connectivity results to display in a glass brain is freely available online (https://www.nitrc.org/projects/surfice/).
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Annen, J., Panda, R., Martial, C. et al. Mapping the functional brain state of a world champion freediver in static dry apnea. Brain Struct Funct 226, 2675–2688 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02361-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-021-02361-1