Breathing oscillations play an important role in coordinating signals across neurons.

“It's in the background, it's in the brain, and oscillations play an important part in brain function. And they vary in frequency from maybe 100 hertz down to, well, we can get to circadian and sort of monthly cycles, but breathing occupies a rather unusual place in all that because... So, let me talk about what people think the oscillation's is doing, particularly faster ones. They're important in coordinating signals across neurons. Just like in a computer, a computer steps. So, a computer knows when information is coming from another part of a computer so that it was originated at a particular time.”