Stabilizing the Locomotor-Respiratory Coupling Using a Metronome to Save Energy

• Main Authors: Villard Sébastien J., Hoffmann Charles P., Bardy Benoît G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2011-12-01
• Series: BIO Web of Conferences
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20110100036

The Locomotor-Respiratory Coupling (LRC) is often evidenced by phase- or frequency-locking patterns. The model of the sine circle map is used here to characterize LRC. Several studies have suggested that a sound emitted by an external metronome can stabilize the LRC. Participants in our task were asked during a cycling exercise to synchronize either their respiration or their pedaling rate with an external auditory stimulus corresponding to their preferred respiratory and pedaling frequencies respectively. Our results showed a significant reduction in energy expenditure when participants breathed in sync with the auditory stimulation, but not accompanied by a change in the stabilization of LRC. A large within- as well as between-participants LRC variability, together with the spontaneous adoption of the most stable pace, contributes to explain this result.