ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1533019
The Implications of the Diving Response in Altering Carbon Dioxide Sensititivy as measured by changes in Heart Rate, Respiration Rate and Psychological Measures in Panic Disorder Patients
Provisionally accepted
Peter Kyriakoulis*
Catherine Lissette Caballero*- School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
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Breath-hold divers are known for their exceptional breathing control and lower carbon dioxide (CO2) sensitivity due to training effects. Increased CO2 sensitivity is common in panic disorder (PD) patients. This study aims to further investigate the applications of the diving response (DR) for PD and more specifically determine whether cold facial immersion (CFI) has a preventative effect on panic-related symptoms and cognitions. This study comprises two phases, the first of which specifically examines the applications of the DR and CFI in altering CO2 sensitivity in participants with PD. The findings did not provide support for the CFI task to reduce CO2 sensitivity as evidenced by heart rate and respiration rate reductions following the subsequent CO2 challenge in clinical and comparison group participants, given the small sample size. Significant reductions in both physiological and cognitive symptoms of panic were noted in the clinical group following the CFI task. As hypothesized, the CFI task exerted demonstrable anxiolytic effects in the clinical group in this study by reducing self-reported symptoms of anxiety and panic. This outcome demonstrates the promise of the CFI task for clinical applications.
Keywords: Panic Disorder, Anxiety, diving response, Cold facial immersion, Carbon dioxide sensitivity
Received: 22 Nov 2024; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kyriakoulis and Caballero. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Peter Kyriakoulis, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, 3122, Victoria, Australia
Catherine Lissette Caballero, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, 3122, Victoria, Australia
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