Burr Ridge student presents research at seventh annual Celebration of Scholars event

2017 May 2

Carthage College held the seventh annual Celebration of Scholars event on Friday, April 28, 2017. Celebration of Scholars is a poster exhibition that features original research, scholarship, and creative work completed by Carthage students.

Kathryn McAuliffe of Burr Ridge presented "Reducing Resting Tidal Volume, Minute Ventilation, Frequency of Breath, and Heart Rate Through Training" at the event.

This is the project's abstract:

"Stress is a subjective state of mental, emotional, and/or physical strain that varies among individuals. Some individuals, deemed as behaviorally inhibited (BI), tend to avoid unfamiliar situations or environments to reduce stress and are more susceptible to anxiety disorders than non-behaviorally inhibited (non-BI) individuals. Our lab focuses on using CO as a physiological stressor to distinguish differences in stress response between BI and non-BI individuals. Normal resting values for adult humans are tidal volumes falling between 0.4-0.7 L, frequency of breathing is 7-12 breaths/minute, and minute ventilation of 5-8 L/minute. This current research is concerned with tidal volume and breathing frequency. During control periods, our lab consistently sees between 0.8-1.2 L for tidal volume and 16-18 breaths/minute for breathing frequency. We also see elevated resting values for minute ventilation and heart rate. This pilot study aims to investigate if training participants on the breathing apparatus reduces breathing values to established control levels. Participants will come in for two 15-minute training periods in which they breathe room air through a mouthpiece. After the two training periods, participants will participate in a normal study trial. We predict that training periods will lead to a reduction in the control data we obtain, ultimately leading to a clearer response to CO in normal trials."