“Breath + Music = Euphoria? New Neuroscience Reveals the Secret to Drug-Free Altered States”
1. Introduction
In recent years, mind-body healing practices such as meditation, yoga, and breathwork have gained increasing popularity, especially in the realm of mental health.
A paper published in PLOS ONE in August 2025, titled “Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music,” systematically explores for the first time how High Ventilation Breathwork (HVB), when combined with music, can induce “altered states of consciousness” (ASC) at the brain level, similar to experiences brought on by psychedelics.
Paper link: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0329411
This blog aims to provide an accessible yet in-depth interpretation of the study’s experimental design, key findings, scientific significance, and its implications for future mind-body health practices.
2. Background: Breathwork, Music, and Altered States of Consciousness
Breathwork, especially HVB, has recently become recognized as a non-pharmacological tool for psychological healing.
Unlike traditional meditation, HVB emphasizes fast, deep, uninterrupted breathing, often accompanied by rhythmic, powerful music. Through “cyclic breathing,” participants are guided into extraordinary states of experience. Many practitioners report feelings of euphoria, emotional release, a sense of oneness with the world, and even “out-of-body” or “flow” experiences.
These experiences closely resemble the ASC induced by classic psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin, but HVB requires no drugs, avoiding legal and health risks. Scientists hope to uncover the neurobiological mechanisms behind these effects to inspire new approaches in mental health intervention.
3. Experimental Design and Methods
The study recruited experienced HVB practitioners, divided into three groups: an online instruction group, a laboratory physiological monitoring group, and an MRI brain imaging group.
All participants completed 20–30 minutes of high ventilation cyclic breathing combined with music, without any pauses between inhalation and exhalation. Afterwards, they filled out experience questionnaires within 30 minutes.
The guided breathing audio emphasized “open-mouth deep inhalation, active inhaling, passive exhaling, continuous breathing without pauses,” encouraging participants to “let go of expectations, focus on breathing, and feel bodily and emotional changes.” The music gradually increased in tempo, boosting both breathing rhythm and emotional arousal.
The laboratory group monitored physiological indicators such as heart rate variability (HRV), while the MRI group recorded changes in blood flow across different brain regions during the breathing session.
4. Key Findings
- Synchronized Altered Consciousness and Physiological Activation
The study found that the intensity of ASC induced by HVB was positively correlated with sympathetic nervous system activation (the “stress response”).
Specifically, heart rate variability decreased, indicating a state of heightened tension or excitement. This process mirrors the “arousal” phase seen in psychedelic experiences.
- Dual Dynamics of Brain Blood Flow
Most striking was the dynamic change in brain blood flow:
- Overall reduction: During HVB, blood flow significantly decreased in most brain regions, especially in the left operculum and posterior insula, which are closely related to breath perception and internal bodily states.
- Increased flow in emotion and memory centers: At the same time, blood flow gradually increased in the right amygdala and anterior hippocampus—areas that govern emotional processing and affective memory.
This pattern of “global inhibition + local activation” may be the neural basis for ASC experiences of “dissolving self-boundaries, emotional release, and euphoria.”
- Subjective Experience: Euphoria, Emotional Release, and Dissolution of Fear
All participants, across all groups, reported a reduction in fear and negative emotions, and experienced “euphoria, emotional breakthrough, and a sense of oneness with the world” (the so-called “Oceanic Boundlessness”). Importantly, no adverse reactions were observed, demonstrating the safety and controllability of HVB.
5. Scientific Significance and Mechanistic Insights
- Interoception and Reprocessing: A Window into Brain Self-Regulation
The decrease in blood flow in the left operculum and posterior insula suggests that HVB temporarily “switches off” the brain’s usual monitoring of internal bodily states, similar to the “self-dissolution” seen in meditation or hypnosis. Meanwhile, activation in the amygdala and anterior hippocampus provides the neural foundation for emotional release and restructuring. Together, these effects may allow individuals to “step outside themselves” and reintegrate emotions and memories.
- Non-Drug-Induced Psychedelia: New Avenues for Psychotherapy
HVB combined with music induces ASC highly similar to psychedelic experiences, but without drugs. This opens new non-pharmacological intervention paths for issues such as psychological trauma, anxiety, and depression—especially for those sensitive to or contraindicated for medications.
- Synergy of Music and Breathwork
The progressive rhythm of music not only enhances the breathing pattern, but may also directly influence emotional centers in the brain via resonance effects. The synchronization of music and breathwork provides powerful emotional momentum for ASC experiences.
6. Limitations and Future Directions
Despite revealing the neural mechanisms of HVB-induced ASC, the study’s sample size was relatively small and mainly included experienced practitioners.
Future research could explore the effects of different populations, music styles, and breathing rhythms on ASC, and use multimodal imaging techniques such as EEG and functional MRI to analyze dynamic changes in brain networks in greater detail.
Additionally, while ASC experiences are generally positive, they may be uncomfortable for some psychologically vulnerable individuals. Therefore, safe, standardized guidance and professional psychological support remain prerequisites for promoting HVB.
7. Conclusion: Breath as the Gateway, Music as the Key
This study shows that the combination of breathwork and music is not just a tool for emotional regulation, but may also be a “key” to the depths of consciousness.
Under drug-free, controllable, and replicable conditions, humans may use this “gateway” to experience the blurring of self-boundaries, emotional release, and psychological healing.
As the guidance says: “Breath is your closest friend. It has accompanied you since birth and is worthy of trust.” At the intersection of science and practice, a new future for mind-body health may be taking shape.
References:
- Kartar, A. A., et al. (2025). Neurobiological substrates of altered states of consciousness induced by high ventilation breathwork accompanied by music. PLOS ONE, 20(8): e0329411.
- Neuroscience News, MedicalXpress, GIGAZINE, and other related reports.