Peter Kyriakoulis
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Title: The implications of the diving response in reducing panic symptoms and cognitions
Biography
Biography: Peter Kyriakoulis
Abstract
Background: The existence of a false suffocation alarm (FSA) monitor, which is sensitive to detecting CO2 changes, such as those that occur with panic attacks, have been postulated by Klein in 1993. It has been speculated that panic disorder (PD) patients have enhanced CO2 sensitivity which prompts the brain’s suffocation monitor to erroneously signal a lack of oxygen and trigger an FSA. The 35% CO2 challenge has been widely used to study panic and CO2 sensitivity. The diving response (DR) is an oxygen conserving adaptation that is activated by apnea and cold facial immersion (CFI). During the DR, individuals experience physiological changes including a significant decrease in heart rate. In many ways, the physiological changes that are experienced during the DR, a feeling of calmness and relaxation are the opposite of those experienced during a panic attack.
Aim: Two studies were conducted with an aim to investigate the immediate and short-term effects of breath holding and CFI on panic symptoms between panic participants and normal controls.
Methods: In the first study, participants undertook a number of challenges, including a CO2 challenge, breath hold challenge and CFI task to establish group differences in anxiety measures and physiological responses between panics and controls. In the second preliminary study the CFI task was used to determine whether it has any effect on reducing panic symptoms and one’s response to the CO2 challenge.
Results: Findings revealed that anxiety and panic symptoms reduced in response to the CFI.
Conclusions: Implications of the study point to the CFI reducing anxiety symptoms which warrants further investigation to determine the implications of the DR in treating panic disorder.