Breathing and affective picture processing across the adult lifespan

•Age influenced the overall response magnitude of expiratory time and end-tidal pCO2.•Inspiratory time did not shorten as arousal increased in older adults.•Only middle-aged and older adults’ inspiratory duty cycle varied with valence and arousal.•Thoracic breathing increased as unpleasantness increased only in older adults.•The respiratory flow parameters augmented as arousal increased in all age groups.

The present study investigated differences between healthy younger, middle-aged, and older adults in their respiratory responses to pictures of different valence and arousal. Expiratory time shortened and end-tidal PCO2 decreased with increasing arousal in all age groups; yet, compared to younger adults, older adults’ overall change from baseline was smaller for expiratory time and larger for end-tidal PCO2. Contrary to their younger counterparts, older adults’ inspiratory time did not shorten with increasing arousal. Inspiratory duty cycle did not covary with affective ratings for younger adults, increased with unpleasantness for middle-aged adults, and increased with arousal for older adults. Thoracic breathing increased with increasing unpleasantness only among older adults. Age had no effects on mean inspiratory flow and minute ventilation, which both augmented as arousal increased. We discuss how age effects on respiratory response magnitude and pattern may depend on age-associated biological changes or reflect age-related differences in emotional processing.