The present study was designed to compare respiratory changes during the detection of guilty knowledge test in a mock crime situation with respiratory changes during laboratory stressors. Sixteen male and fourteen female undergraduates participated in the following five sessions : pre-trial rest (PR), mental arithmetic (MA), a video game (VG), detection of deception (DD), and post-trial rest (PO). Of the respiratory control indices, respiratory drive (mean inspiratory flow rate) significantly increased during MA and VG, whereas respiratory timing (inspiratory time / breath time) did not show any consistent changes during either stressors. In contrast, the index of respiratory drive did not show any significant increments in response to critical items in the guilty knowledge test in the DD condition, in which each subjects were required to commit a mock theft. Decrements in expiratory volume and minute ventilation in response to critical items were significantly greater than those in response to non-critical items. These results suggested that respiration during stress tends to be hyperventilated, and also suggested that respiration during deception is characterized by inhibitory breathing.
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