Erotic asphyxiation or breath control play is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal.
The sexual practice is variously called asphyxiophilia, autoerotic asphyxia, hypoxyphilia. Colloquially, a person engaging in the activity is sometimes called a gasper. The erotic interest in asphyxiation is classified as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association.
