Summary: New research finds that practicing high ventilation breathwork (HVB) while listening to music can produce profound altered states of consciousness similar to those reported with psychedelic substances. Combining self-reported experiences with brain imaging, the study showed that HVB activates the body’s stress-related sympathetic response while shifting cerebral blood flow to emotion-processing regions such as the amygdala and hippocampus. These physiological changes were associated with feelings of bliss, emotional release and unity—often described as “oceanic boundlessness”—and were accompanied by reduced fear and negative affect in participants.
Breathwork that increases breathing rate or depth, when paired with music, is becoming increasingly popular as a tool for psychological relief. Because HVB can induce strong subjective experiences without drugs, it may offer a non-pharmacological option for therapeutic work. Until now, however, the neurobiological underpinnings of these breathwork-induced altered states had been little explored.
Key Facts
- Psychedelic-like subjective states: HVB reliably evoked sensations of bliss, unity, insight, and emotional breakthrough comparable to those reported during psychedelic experiences.
- Targeted brain blood flow changes: Although HVB produced large global reductions in cerebral blood flow, it simultaneously increased perfusion in the right amygdala and anterior hippocampus and decreased flow in the left operculum and posterior insula—areas linked to emotional memory and interoceptive representation respectively.
- Emotional benefits with no adverse events: Across experimental settings, participants reported reduced fear and negative emotions during all sessions, and no adverse reactions were recorded.
Source: PLOS
Breathwork combined with music can produce blissful, psychedelic-like states and measurable changes in brain blood flow, according to a study published August 27, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One. The work was led by Amy Amla Kartar from the Colasanti Lab in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, U.K., and colleagues.
To investigate the phenomenon, the authors characterized altered states of consciousness (ASCs) induced by HVB in experienced practitioners across three cohorts: 15 participants in an online setting, 8 in a laboratory setting, and 19 who completed functional magnetic resonance imaging. Each participant completed a 20–30 minute continuous cyclic breathing session while listening to music, followed by questionnaires administered within 30 minutes of the session.
Results indicated that ASC intensity scaled with cardiovascular sympathetic activation, measured as a decrease in heart rate variability—an index of physiological arousal and stress response. At the same time, the researchers observed marked regional haemodynamic changes: a strong decrease in perfusion in the left operculum and posterior insula, regions implicated in sensing the internal state of the body, and a progressive increase in perfusion to the right amygdala and anterior hippocampus, regions involved in emotional memory processing.
These region-specific blood flow changes correlated with participants’ reports of oceanic boundlessness, a cluster of experiences including spiritual insight, blissful states, perceived unity, and positive depersonalization. The study suggests that the combination of autonomic arousal and altered perfusion in emotion- and interoception-related brain regions may contribute to the therapeutic and subjective effects of HVB.
Importantly, across settings and participants, HVB sessions were associated with reduced fear and negative emotion, and no adverse reactions were observed. The authors emphasize that despite promising findings, the study is exploratory and requires replication with larger samples and appropriate control conditions to disentangle the effects of breathing from the influence of music.
The researchers note this is the first neuroimaging study to map physiological changes during breathwork-induced altered states. They report that deeper sensations of unity, bliss and emotional release correlated with larger blood flow changes in specific brain areas that support self-awareness and emotional memory processing.
Lead author Amy Kartar described the project as an exciting first step into an understudied area: while many people report benefits from breathwork, high-paced ventilatory techniques have seen limited scientific evaluation. Principal investigator Dr. Alessandro Colasanti highlighted breathwork’s potential as a natural neuromodulatory tool that could be developed into a therapeutic intervention for distressing and disabling conditions.
About this music and consciousness research news
Author: Hanna Abdallah
Source: PLOS
Contact: Hanna Abdallah – PLOS
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music” by Amy Kartar et al., PLOS ONE.
Abstract
Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music
Breathwork methods that increase ventilatory rate or depth, often facilitated by music, can evoke subjective states that closely resemble altered states of consciousness produced by psychedelic substances. These subjective components include euphoria, bliss and altered perception. The neurobiological mechanisms that produce these profound subjective effects of HVB have remained largely unexplored.
In this study, experienced practitioners underwent HVB sessions while physiological and imaging measures were collected. The intensity of induced ASCs correlated with cardiovascular sympathetic activation and with localized haemodynamic changes in cerebral perfusion across the left operculum/posterior insula and the right amygdala/anterior hippocampus. These regions are implicated in interoceptive representation of respiration and in the processing of emotional memories, respectively. The regional cerebral effects observed here may underlie the pivotal mental experiences that mediate the positive therapeutic outcomes associated with HVB.