Long-term effects of biofeedback-induced facial relaxation on measures of asthma severity in children

We studied the effects of electromyographic biofeedback on measures of asthma severity in children. Fifteen children received biofeedback training to reduce facial tension, and 14 children, who served as controls, received biofeedback training to maintain facial tension at a stable level. Assignment to experimental condition was random. As a result of training, electromyographic levels decreased in children trained in facial relaxation and remained fairly constant in children trained in facial tension stability. Biofeedback training was augmented for children in both groups by having them practice their facial exercises at home. Each child's condition was followed for a five-month period subsequent to biofeedback training. Throughout the experiment, the following measures of asthma severity were monitored: lung function, self-rated asthma severity, medication usage, and frequency of asthma attacks. In addition, standardized measures of attitudes toward asthma, self-concept, and chronic anxiety were recorded at regular intervals. As compared to the facial stability subjects, the facial relaxation subjects exhibited higher pulmonary scores, more positive attitudes toward asthma, and lower chronic anxiety during the followup period. Subjects in the two groups, however, did not differ on self-rated asthma severity, medication usage, frequency of asthma attacks, or self-concept. Based on the improvements we observed in pulmonary, attitude, and anxiety measures, we concluded that biofeedback training for facial relaxation contributes to the self-control of asthma and would be a valuable addition to asthma self-management programs.This research was supported by NIH grant No. HL27402. We are grateful to Anita D. Baker, Lisa Barclay, Deborah L. Harm, and Douglas J. Miller for serving as experimenters and to Constance K. Cottrell and Cindy Stout for compiling summaries of the data.     

EMG stability as a biofeedback control

Factors that may confound comparisons between electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback training and its control conditions include feedback quality and experience of success. We investigated the usefulness of a control procedure designed to overcome these potential sources of confounding. The procedure consisted of training muscle tension stability. We used it as a control for frontal EMG relaxation training in children with asthma. To equate the groups for feedback quality and experience of success, we gave each child in the control condition audio feedback decreasing in pitch when muscle tension was at or near baseline levels, and feedback increasing in pitch when muscle tension was either substantially above or below baseline levels. Children in both groups were instructed to decrease the pitch of the tone. In comparison to children in the relaxation condition, the children in the control condition exhibited stable levels of muscle tension throughout eight training sessions. We concluded that feedback for stable muscle tension may be a useful control procedure for EMG biofeedback training whenever experimental and control procedures differ in either feedback quality of degree to which they permit subjects to experience success.This research was supported by NIH-Grant HL 27402. We are grateful to Paul Schnitter who constructed the EMG stability feedback device.     

Long-term effects of biofeedback-induced facial relaxation on measures of asthma severity in children

We studied the effects of electromyographic biofeedback on measures of asthma severity in children. Fifteen children received biofeedback training to reduce facial tension, and 14 children, who served as controls, received biofeedback training to maintain facial tension at a stable level. Assignment to experimental condition was random. As a result of training, electromyographic levels decreased in children trained in facial relaxation and remained fairly constant in children trained in facial tension stability. Biofeedback training was augmented for children in both groups by having them practice their facial exercises at home. Each child's condition was followed for a five-month period subsequent to biofeedback training. Throughout the experiment, the following measures of asthma severity were monitored: lung function, self-rated asthma severity, medication usage, and frequency of asthma attacks. In addition, standardized measures of attitudes toward asthma, self-concept, and chronic anxiety were recorded at regular intervals. As compared to the facial stability subjects, the facial relaxation subjects exhibited higher pulmonary scores, more positive attitudes toward asthma, and lower chronic anxiety during the follow-up period. Subjects in the two groups, however, did not differ on self-rated asthma severity, medication usage, frequency of asthma attacks, or self-concept. Based on the improvements we observed in pulmonary, attitude, and anxiety measures, we concluded that biofeedback training for facial relaxation contributes to the self-control of asthma and would be a valuable addition to asthma self-management programs.     

Human breathing pattern responses to loading with increased background impedance

We determined the influence of the background level of mechanical impedance on the respiratory responses to very small mechanical loads, at or below the threshold for conscious perception. We used a pseudorandom load application technique to estimate the immediate pattern responses from the zeroth lag of the cross correlation between the load application sequence and the respiratory pattern components of tidal volume (VT), inspiratory and expiratory time (TI and TE), and the instantaneous respiratory frequency (f), minute ventilation (VI), and mean inspiratory flow (VT/TI). Elevation of the background resistance served to reduce the TI and TE responses to small perturbations in resistance from those in the control background state, which resulted in generally smaller perturbations of f, VI, and VT/TI. Elevation of the background elastance, however, served to initiate a TI reduction not seen in the control state but did not appreciably affect the rest of the pattern responses to the load perturbations. Thus the neural reflexes involved in breath-by-breath pattern regulation are modulated by the background level of the respiratory impedance, as well as by the type and size of the load perturbation.     

Highlights of the Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Respiratory Psychophysiology and the 14th International Symposium on Respiratory Psychophysiology

This article provides a review of selected presentations and events that highlighted the annual meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Respiratory Psychophysiology (ISARP) and the 14th International Symposium on Respiratory Psychophysiology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 1995. The meeting, which was scheduled as a satellite to the 35th annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, included two workshops (Diana M. Innocenti on Identification of Individual Breathing Patterns and Introduction to the Reeducation of Dysfunctional Patterns in Hyperventilation, Asthma, and Emphysema and Richard N. Gevirtz on Respiratory and Psychophysiological Factors in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Functional Cardiac and Panic Disorders), two symposia (one on Breathing Retraining: Issues and Applications and one on Capnography and Hyperventilatory Hemodynamics), three invited addresses (Hans Folgering on Rehabilitation of Patients with Exercise Hypoxemia; David Stubbing on Assessing Impairment, Disability, and Handicap in Chronic Lung Disease; and Robert Banzett on Hypercapnia-Induced Air Hunger), three panel sessions (one on Respiratory Psychophysiology of Airway Obstruction, one on Applied Respiratory Psychophysiology, and one on Hyperventilation and Panic: Psychological Aspects), and a poster session.     

EMG stability as a biofeedback control.

Factors that may confound comparisons between electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback training and its control conditions include feedback quality and experience of success. We investigated the usefulness of a control procedure designed to overcome these potential sources of confounding. The procedure consisted of training muscle tension stability. We used it as a control for frontal EMG relaxation training in children with asthma. To equate the groups for feedback quality and experience of success, we gave each child in the control condition audio feedback decreasing in pitch when muscle tension was at or near baseline levels, and feedback increasing in pitch when muscle tension was either substantially above or below baseline levels. Children in both groups were instructed to decrease the pitch of the tone. In comparison to children in the relaxation condition, the children in the control condition exhibited stable levels of muscle tension throughout eight training sessions. We concluded that feedback for stable muscle tension may be a useful control procedure for EMG biofeedback training whenever experimental and control procedures differ in either feedback quality of degree to which they permit subjects to experience success.