1 1670 112 NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE: AGE-, EXPERIENCE-, AND FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT PLASTICITY. YOGA COMBINES POSTURES, BREATHING, AND MEDITATION. DESPITE REPORTED HEALTH BENEFITS, YOGA'S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN HAVE RECEIVED LITTLE STUDY. WE USED MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TO COMPARE AGE-RELATED GRAY MATTER (GM) DECLINE IN YOGIS AND CONTROLS. WE ALSO EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF INCREASING YOGA EXPERIENCE AND WEEKLY PRACTICE ON GM VOLUME AND ASSESSED WHICH ASPECTS OF WEEKLY PRACTICE CONTRIBUTED MOST TO BRAIN SIZE. CONTROLS DISPLAYED THE WELL DOCUMENTED AGE-RELATED GLOBAL BRAIN GM DECLINE WHILE YOGIS DID NOT, SUGGESTING THAT YOGA CONTRIBUTES TO PROTECT THE BRAIN AGAINST AGE-RELATED DECLINE. YEARS OF YOGA EXPERIENCE CORRELATED MOSTLY WITH GM VOLUME DIFFERENCES IN THE LEFT HEMISPHERE (INSULA, FRONTAL OPERCULUM, AND ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX) SUGGESTING THAT YOGA TUNES THE BRAIN TOWARD A PARASYMPATICALLY DRIVEN MODE AND POSITIVE STATES. THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF WEEKLY PRACTICE CORRELATED WITH GM VOLUME IN THE PRIMARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX/SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE (S1/SPL), PRECUNEUS/POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (PCC), HIPPOCAMPUS, AND PRIMARY VISUAL CORTEX (V1). COMMONALITY ANALYSES INDICATED THAT THE COMBINATION OF POSTURES AND MEDITATION CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO THE SIZE OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS, PRECUNEUS/PCC, AND S1/SPL WHILE THE COMBINATION OF MEDITATION AND BREATHING EXERCISES CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO V1 VOLUME. YOGA'S POTENTIAL NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS MAY PROVIDE A NEURAL BASIS FOR SOME OF ITS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. 2015 2 2693 24 YOGA INCREASES THE VOLUME OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS IN ELDERLY SUBJECTS. CONTEXT: THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF YOGA ON THE CORTICAL STRUCTURES IN THE ELDERLY IS AS YET UNKNOWN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SEVEN HEALTHY ELDERLY SUBJECTS RECEIVED YOGA INTERVENTION AS AN ADD-ON LIFE-STYLE PRACTICE. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING SCANS WERE OBTAINED BEFORE AND 6 MONTHS LATER. VOXEL-BASED-MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSES COMPARED THE BRAINS BEFORE AND AFTER THE YOGA. RESULTS: YOGA GROUP WAS FOUND TO HAVE INCREASES IN HIPPOCAMPAL, BUT NOT IN OCCIPITAL GRAY MATTER. CONCLUSION: YOGA HAS POTENTIAL TO REDUCE NEURO-SENESCENCE. SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND ABSENCE OF THE CONTROL GROUP PREVENT GENERALIZATION OF THE FINDINGS LIMITING ITS TRANSLATIONAL VALUE. 2013 3 1972 26 SHORT-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TRAINING MODULATES BRAIN STRUCTURE AND SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITY IN THE EXECUTIVE CONTROL NETWORK. INTRODUCTION: WHILE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN NEURAL CHANGES IN LONG-TERM MEDITATORS, THEY MIGHT BE CONFOUNDED BY SELF-SELECTION AND POTENTIAL BASELINE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEDITATORS AND NON MEDITATORS. PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION IN NAIVE SUBJECTS ARE MORE CONCLUSIVE WITH RESPECT TO CAUSAL INFERENCES, BUT RELATED EVIDENCE IS SO FAR LIMITED. METHODS: HERE, WE ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF A 4-WEEK SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TRAINING ON GRAY MATTER DENSITY AND SPONTANEOUS RESTING-STATE BRAIN ACTIVITY IN A GROUP OF 12 MEDITATION-NAIVE HEALTHY ADULTS. RESULTS: COMPARED WITH 30 CONTROL SUBJECTS, THE PARTICIPANTS TO MEDITATION TRAINING SHOWED INCREASED GRAY MATTER DENSITY AND CHANGES IN THE COHERENCE OF INTRINSIC BRAIN ACTIVITY IN TWO ADJACENT REGIONS OF THE RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS ENCOMPASSING THE ANTERIOR COMPONENT OF THE EXECUTIVE CONTROL NETWORK. BOTH THESE MEASURES CORRELATED WITH SELF-REPORTED WELL-BEING SCORES IN THE MEDITATION GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF A BRIEF MEDITATION TRAINING ON BRAIN REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION, SELF-CONTROL, AND SELF-AWARENESS MAY REFLECT THE ENGAGEMENT OF COGNITIVE CONTROL SKILLS IN SEARCHING FOR A STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE, A DISTINCTIVE FEATURE OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. THE MANIFOLD IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS INVOLVE BOTH MANAGERIAL AND REHABILITATIVE SETTINGS CONCERNED WITH WELL-BEING AND EMOTIONAL STATE IN NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS. 2019 4 1098 32 EFFECTS OF YOGA RESPIRATORY PRACTICE (BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA) ON ANXIETY, AFFECT, AND BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY AND ACTIVITY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PRANAYAMA REFERS TO A SET OF YOGA BREATHING EXERCISES. RECENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMA HAS POSITIVE EFFECTS ON MEASURES OF CLINICAL STRESS AND ANXIETY. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE IMPACT OF A BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA TRAINING PROGRAM ON EMOTION PROCESSING, ANXIETY, AND AFFECT. WE USED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL DESIGN WITH THIRTY HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 4 WEEKS OF PRANAYAMA PRACTICES. TWO FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) PROTOCOLS WERE USED BOTH AT BASELINE AND POST-INTERVENTION: AN EMOTION TASK AS WELL AS A RESTING-STATE ACQUISITION. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PRANAYAMA SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED STATES OF ANXIETY AND NEGATIVE AFFECT. THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMA ALSO MODULATED THE ACTIVITY OF BRAIN REGIONS INVOLVED IN EMOTIONAL PROCESSING, PARTICULARLY THE AMYGDALA, ANTERIOR CINGULATE, ANTERIOR INSULA, AND PREFRONTAL CORTEX. RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MRI (FMRI) SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY INVOLVING THE ANTERIOR INSULA AND LATERAL PORTIONS OF THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX. CORRELATION ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT CHANGES IN CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THE RIGHT ANTERIOR INSULA WERE ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN ANXIETY. ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THESE ANALYSES WERE PRELIMINARY AND EXPLORATORY, IT PROVIDES THE FIRST EVIDENCE THAT 4 WEEKS OF B. PRANAYAMA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND THAT THESE CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE MODULATION OF ACTIVITY AND CONNECTIVITY IN BRAIN AREAS INVOLVED IN EMOTION PROCESSING, ATTENTION, AND AWARENESS. THE STUDY WAS REGISTERED AT HTTPS://WWW.ENSAIOSCLINICOS.GOV.BR/RG/RBR-2GV5C2/(RBR-2GV5C2). 2020 5 2371 29 WHAT HAS NEUROIMAGING TAUGHT US ON THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF YOGA? A REVIEW. YOGA IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR WORLDWIDE, WITH SEVERAL IMPLICATED PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BENEFITS. HERE WE PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE AND CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH GENERATED FROM THE EXISTING NEUROIMAGING LITERATURE IN STUDIES OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS. WE REVIEWED 34 INTERNATIONAL PEER-REVIEWED NEUROIMAGING STUDIES OF YOGA USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI), POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET), OR SINGLE-PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT): 11 MORPHOLOGICAL AND 26 FUNCTIONAL STUDIES, INCLUDING THREE STUDIES THAT WERE CLASSIFIED AS BOTH MORPHOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL. CONSISTENT FINDINGS INCLUDE INCREASED GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN THE INSULA AND HIPPOCAMPUS, INCREASED ACTIVATION OF PREFRONTAL CORTICAL REGIONS, AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY CHANGES MAINLY WITHIN THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. THERE IS QUITE SOME VARIABILITY IN THE NEUROIMAGING FINDINGS THAT PARTIALLY REFLECTS DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES AND APPROACHES, AS WELL AS SAMPLE SIZE LIMITATIONS. DIRECT COMPARATOR GROUPS SUCH AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE SCARCELY USED SO FAR. FINALLY, HYPOTHESES ON THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY DERIVED FROM THE IMAGING FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN THE LIGHT OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA. 2020 6 2760 37 YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNIQUELY ACTIVATE THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS DURING EMOTION REGULATION. CHRONIC STRESS CONTRIBUTES TO BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESS. A HIGH PREVALENCE AND COST OF STRESS-RELATED ILLNESSES NORTH AMERICA WARRANTS INVESTIGATION INTO ALTERNATIVE OR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES WHICH MAY HELP REDUCE ADVERSE REACTIONS TO STRESSFUL STIMULI. EMOTION REGULATION IS THE PROCESS OF MONITORING AND ADJUSTING EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI AND STRESSORS. INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ADVERSE RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, POTENTIALLY DUE TO ADAPTIONS IN EMOTION REGULATION. YOGA IS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING STRETCHING EXERCISES AND MEDITATION, THAT MAY LESSEN INDIVIDUALS' LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY AND IMPROVE EMOTION REGULATION. HIGH-FREQUENCY HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HF-HRV) IS CONSIDERED A MEASURE OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS) ACTIVITY DURING THE EMOTION REGULATION. MEASURING HRV AND BRAIN ACTIVITY USING FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) OFFERS A USEFUL, NONINVASIVE APPROACH TO EVALUATING "NEUROVISCERAL" COMPONENTS OF EMOTION REGULATION. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YP) EXHIBIT DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF BRAIN ACTIVATION COMPARED TO RECREATIONAL ATHLETES (RA) WITHOUT CURRENT YOGA EXPERIENCE, WHILE VIEWING EMOTIONALLY AROUSING VISUAL STIMULI. OUR SECONDARY AIM WAS TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCES ACROSS GROUPS IN HRV THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION OF THESE STIMULI. ANALYSIS OF FMRI DATA DURING EXPOSURE TO EMOTION-EVOKING (EE) STIMULI REVEALED THAT THE YP GROUP ACTIVATED TWO UNIQUE BRAIN AREAS, NAMELY THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND THE SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS. THESE AREAS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTIONAL AWARENESS AND REDUCED EGOCENTRIC BIAS, PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN EMOTION REGULATION BY OTHERS. THE RA GROUP ACTIVATED THE INFERIOR MIDDLE FRONTAL CORTEX, AN AREA ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL DURING EMOTION REGULATION. THE YP GROUP ALSO DEMONSTRATED A TREND TOWARDS A HIGHER RATIO OF LOW- TO HIGH-FREQUENCY HRV COMPARED TO THE RA GROUP. THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUPPORT THE PRESENCE OF EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT NEUROVISCERAL MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION REGULATION. INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULATE THEIR NEUROVISCERAL RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL EXTERNAL STIMULI IN A DIFFERENT MANNER THAN RECREATIONAL ATHLETES WHO DO NOT ENGAGE IN YOGA PRACTICE. THE PRESENT STUDY HAD A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE (RA: N = 12; YP: N = 19), WHICH SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN INTERPRETING THE RESULTS. 2018 7 1496 28 INTRACEREBRAL PAIN PROCESSING IN A YOGA MASTER WHO CLAIMS NOT TO FEEL PAIN DURING MEDITATION. WE RECORDED MAGNETOENCEPHALOGRAPHY (MEG) AND FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) FOLLOWING NOXIOUS LASER STIMULATION IN A YOGA MASTER WHO CLAIMS NOT TO FEEL PAIN WHEN MEDITATING. AS FOR BACKGROUND MEG ACTIVITY, THE POWER OF ALPHA FREQUENCY BANDS PEAKING AT AROUND 10 HZ WAS MUCH INCREASED DURING MEDITATION OVER OCCIPITAL, PARIETAL AND TEMPORAL REGIONS, WHEN COMPARED WITH THE NON-MEDITATIVE STATE, WHICH MIGHT MEAN THE SUBJECT WAS VERY RELAXED, THOUGH HE DID NOT FALL ASLEEP, DURING MEDITATION. PRIMARY PAIN-RELATED CORTICAL ACTIVITIES RECORDED FROM PRIMARY (SI) AND SECONDARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTICES (SII) BY MEG WERE VERY WEAK OR ABSENT DURING MEDITATION. AS FOR FMRI RECORDING, THERE WERE REMARKABLE CHANGES IN LEVELS OF ACTIVITY IN THE THALAMUS, SII-INSULA (MAINLY THE INSULA) AND CINGULATE CORTEX BETWEEN MEDITATION AND NON-MEDITATION. ACTIVITIES IN ALL THREE REGIONS WERE INCREASED DURING NON-MEDITATION, SIMILAR TO RESULTS IN NORMAL SUBJECTS. IN CONTRAST, ACTIVITIES IN ALL THREE REGIONS WERE WEAKER DURING MEDITATION, AND THE LEVEL WAS LOWER THAN THE BASELINE IN THE THALAMUS. RECENT NEUROIMAGING AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES HAVE CLARIFIED THAT THE EMOTIONAL ASPECT OF PAIN PERCEPTION MAINLY INVOLVES THE INSULA AND CINGULATE CORTEX. THOUGH WE CANNOT CLEARLY EXPLAIN THIS UNUSUAL CONDITION IN THE YOGA MASTER, A CHANGE OF MULTIPLE REGIONS RELATING TO PAIN PERCEPTION COULD BE RESPONSIBLE, SINCE PAIN IS A COMPLEX SENSORY AND EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. 2005 8 2531 38 YOGA EFFECTS ON BRAIN HEALTH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE CURRENT LITERATURE. YOGA IS THE MOST POPULAR COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACH PRACTICED BY ADULTS IN THE UNITED STATES. IT IS AN ANCIENT MIND AND BODY PRACTICE WITH ORIGINS IN INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. YOGA COMBINES PHYSICAL POSTURES, RHYTHMIC BREATHING AND MEDITATIVE EXERCISE TO OFFER THE PRACTITIONERS A UNIQUE HOLISTIC MIND-BODY EXPERIENCE. WHILE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE ARE WELL ESTABLISHED, IN RECENT YEARS, THE ACTIVE ATTENTIONAL COMPONENT OF BREATHING AND MEDITATION PRACTICE HAS GARNERED INTEREST AMONG EXERCISE NEUROSCIENTISTS. AS THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR THE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF YOGA CONTINUES TO GROW, THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF YOGA PRACTICE AND ITS DOCUMENTED POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION, AS ASSESSED WITH MRI, FMRI, AND SPECT. WE REVIEWED 11 STUDIES EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE ON THE BRAIN STRUCTURES, FUNCTION AND CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW. COLLECTIVELY, THE STUDIES DEMONSTRATE A POSITIVE EFFECT OF YOGA PRACTICE ON THE STRUCTURE AND/OR FUNCTION OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS, AMYGDALA, PREFRONTAL CORTEX, CINGULATE CORTEX AND BRAIN NETWORKS INCLUDING THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK (DMN). THE STUDIES OFFER PROMISING EARLY EVIDENCE THAT BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS LIKE YOGA MAY HOLD PROMISE TO MITIGATE AGE-RELATED AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DECLINES AS MANY OF THE REGIONS IDENTIFIED ARE KNOWN TO DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANT AGE-RELATED ATROPHY. 2019 9 1667 32 NEUROCHEMICAL AND NEUROANATOMICAL PLASTICITY FOLLOWING MEMORY TRAINING AND YOGA INTERVENTIONS IN OLDER ADULTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR APPROACHES TO AMELIORATE AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE, BUT THEIR UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS AND CLINICAL EFFICIENCY HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY ELUCIDATED. THE PRESENT STUDY EXPLORED BRAIN PLASTICITY ASSOCIATED WITH TWO BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS, MEMORY ENHANCEMENT TRAINING (MET) AND A MIND-BODY PRACTICE (YOGIC MEDITATION), IN HEALTHY SENIORS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI) USING STRUCTURAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (S-MRI) AND PROTON MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY ((1)H-MRS). SENIOR PARTICIPANTS (AGE >/=55 YEARS) WITH MCI WERE RANDOMIZED TO THE MET OR YOGIC MEDITATION INTERVENTIONS. FOR BOTH INTERVENTIONS, PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED EITHER MET TRAINING OR KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) FOR 60-MIN SESSIONS OVER 12 WEEKS, WITH 12-MIN DAILY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. GRAY MATTER VOLUME AND METABOLITE CONCENTRATIONS IN THE DORSAL ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (DACC) AND BILATERAL HIPPOCAMPUS WERE MEASURED BY STRUCTURAL MRI AND (1)H-MRS AT BASELINE AND AFTER 12 WEEKS OF TRAINING. METABOLITES MEASURED INCLUDED GLUTAMATE-GLUTAMINE (GLX), CHOLINE-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS (CHO, INCLUDING GLYCEROPHOSPHOCHOLINE AND PHOSPHOCHOLINE), GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA), AND N-ACETYL ASPARTATE AND N-ACETYLASPARTYL-GLUTAMATE (NAA-NAAG). IN TOTAL, 11 PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED MET AND 14 COMPLETED YOGIC MEDITATION FOR THIS STUDY. STRUCTURAL MRI ANALYSIS SHOWED AN INTERACTION BETWEEN TIME AND GROUP IN DACC, INDICATING A TREND TOWARDS INCREASED GRAY MATTER VOLUME AFTER THE MET INTERVENTION. (1)H-MRS ANALYSIS SHOWED AN INTERACTION BETWEEN TIME AND GROUP IN CHOLINE-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS IN BILATERAL HIPPOCAMPUS, INDUCED BY SIGNIFICANT DECREASES AFTER THE MET INTERVENTION. THOUGH PRELIMINARY, OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT MEMORY TRAINING INDUCES STRUCTURAL AND NEUROCHEMICAL PLASTICITY IN SENIORS WITH MCI. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHETHER MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS LIKE YOGA YIELD SIMILAR NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES. 2016 10 1288 25 GREATER CORTICAL THICKNESS IN ELDERLY FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS-A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY. YOGA, A MIND-BODY ACTIVITY THAT REQUIRES ATTENTIONAL ENGAGEMENT, HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH POSITIVE CHANGES IN BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS RELATED TO AWARENESS, ATTENTION, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND MEMORY. NORMAL AGING, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS ALSO BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL BRAIN CHANGES, BUT THESE GENERALLY INVOLVE DECREASED COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. THE AIM OF THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY WAS TO COMPARE BRAIN CORTICAL THICKNESS (CT) IN ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND A GROUP OF AGE-MATCHED HEALTHY NON-PRACTITIONERS. WE TESTED 21 OLDER WOMEN WHO HAD PRACTICED HATHA YOGA FOR AT LEAST 8 YEARS AND 21 WOMEN NAIVE TO YOGA, MEDITATION OR ANY MIND-BODY INTERVENTIONS WHO WERE MATCHED TO THE FIRST GROUP IN AGE, YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL. A T1-WEIGHTED MPRAGE SEQUENCE WAS ACQUIRED FOR EACH PARTICIPANT. YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER CT IN A LEFT PREFRONTAL LOBE CLUSTER, WHICH INCLUDED PORTIONS OF THE LATERAL MIDDLE FRONTAL GYRUS, ANTERIOR SUPERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS AND DORSAL SUPERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS. WE FOUND GREATER CT IN THE LEFT PREFRONTAL CORTEX OF HEALTHY ELDERLY WOMEN WHO TRAINED YOGA FOR A MINIMUM OF 8 YEARS COMPARED WITH WOMEN IN THE CONTROL GROUP. 2017 11 455 29 CHANGES IN NEURAL CONNECTIVITY AND MEMORY FOLLOWING A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR OLDER ADULTS: A PILOT STUDY. BACKGROUND: NO STUDY HAS EXPLORED THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE DECLINE AND RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY. OBJECTIVES: THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERFORMANCE ON MEMORY TESTS AND RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY BEFORE AND AFTER A YOGA INTERVENTION VERSUS ACTIVE CONTROL FOR SUBJECTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI). METHODS: PARTICIPANTS ( >/= 55 Y) WITH MCI WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE A YOGA INTERVENTION OR ACTIVE "GOLD-STANDARD" CONTROL (I.E., MEMORY ENHANCEMENT TRAINING (MET)) FOR 12 WEEKS. RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING WAS USED TO MAP CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BRAIN NETWORKS AND MEMORY PERFORMANCE CHANGES OVER TIME. DEFAULT MODE NETWORKS (DMN), LANGUAGE AND SUPERIOR PARIETAL NETWORKS WERE CHOSEN AS NETWORKS OF INTEREST TO ANALYZE THE ASSOCIATION WITH CHANGES IN VERBAL AND VISUOSPATIAL MEMORY PERFORMANCE. RESULTS: FOURTEEN YOGA AND 11 MET PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED THE STUDY. THE YOGA GROUP DEMONSTRATED A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSION AND VISUOSPATIAL MEMORY. WE OBSERVED IMPROVED VERBAL MEMORY PERFORMANCE CORRELATED WITH INCREASED CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE DMN AND FRONTAL MEDIAL CORTEX, PREGENUAL ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX, RIGHT MIDDLE FRONTAL CORTEX, POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX, AND LEFT LATERAL OCCIPITAL CORTEX. IMPROVED VERBAL MEMORY PERFORMANCE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH INCREASED CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE LANGUAGE PROCESSING NETWORK AND THE LEFT INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS. IMPROVED VISUOSPATIAL MEMORY PERFORMANCE CORRELATED INVERSELY WITH CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL NETWORK AND THE MEDIAL PARIETAL CORTEX. CONCLUSION: YOGA MAY BE AS EFFECTIVE AS MET IN IMPROVING FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN RELATION TO VERBAL MEMORY PERFORMANCE. THESE FINDINGS SHOULD BE CONFIRMED IN LARGER PROSPECTIVE STUDIES. 2016 12 1897 30 RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT MEDITATION PRACTICES HAVE EFFECTS ON BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES HAVE COMBINED INFORMATION ON THE EFFECTS ON STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN THE SAME SAMPLE. LONG-TERM DAILY MEDITATION PRACTICE PRODUCES REPEATED ACTIVITY OF SPECIFIC BRAIN NETWORKS OVER YEARS OF PRACTICE, WHICH MAY INDUCE LASTING STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY (FC) CHANGES WITHIN RELEVANT CIRCUITS. THE AIM OF OUR STUDY WAS THEREFORE TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES IN FC DURING THE RESTING STATE BETWEEN 23 SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION EXPERTS AND 23 HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS WITHOUT MEDITATION EXPERIENCE. SEED-BASED FC ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED DEPARTING FROM VOXELS THAT HAD SHOWN STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE SAME PARTICIPANTS. THE CONTRAST OF CONNECTIVITY MAPS YIELDED THAT MEDITATORS SHOWED INCREASED FC BETWEEN THE LEFT VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THE RIGHT DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX BUT REDUCED FC BETWEEN THE LEFT INSULA AND THE BILATERAL MID-CINGULATE AS WELL AS BETWEEN THE RIGHT ANGULAR GYRUS AND THE BILATERAL PRECUNEUS/CUNEUS CORTICES. IT THUS APPEARS THAT LONG-TERM MEDITATION PRACTICE INCREASES DIRECT FC BETWEEN VENTRAL AND DORSAL FRONTAL REGIONS WITHIN BRAIN NETWORKS RELATED TO ATTENTION AND COGNITIVE CONTROL AND DECREASES FC BETWEEN REGIONS OF THESE NETWORKS AND AREAS OF THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. 2021 13 629 38 DIFFERENCES IN BRAIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A MIND-BODY BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY THAT HAS DEMONSTRATED A VARIETY OF PHYSIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE HEALTH BENEFITS. ALTHOUGH YOGA PRACTICE HAS SHOWN TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE, FEW STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED THE UNDERLYING NEUROLOGICAL CORRELATES. OBJECTIVE: THE CURRENT STUDY AIMED TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN GRAY MATTER VOLUME OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS, THALAMUS AND CAUDATE NUCLEUS AND BRAIN ACTIVATION DURING THE STERNBERG WORKING MEMORY TASK. METHOD: PARTICIPANTS WERE 13 EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS (MEAN AGE = 35.8), DEFINED AS HAVING MORE THAN 3 YEARS OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE, AND 13 AGE- AND SEX-MATCHED CONTROLS (MEAN AGE = 35.7). ALL PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED A 6-MIN WALK TEST TO ASSESS FITNESS, PSYCHOSOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRES; AND UNDERWENT MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TO ASSESS GRAY MATTER VOLUME AND BRAIN ACTIVATION. RESULTS: THERE WERE NO GROUP DIFFERENCES ON DEMOGRAPHIC MEASURES OF INCOME, EDUCATION AND ON ESTIMATED VO2MAX OR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS. GRAY MATTER VOLUME DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN THE LEFT HIPPOCAMPUS, SHOWING GREATER VOLUME IN EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO CONTROLS (P = 0.017). THE FUNCTIONAL MRI RESULTS REVEALED LESS ACTIVATION IN THE DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO CONTROLS DURING THE ENCODING PHASE OF THE STERNBERG TASK (P < 0.05). REACTION TIME AND ACCURACY ON THE TASK DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN THE GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: OUR RESULTS SUGGEST AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN REGULAR LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE AND DIFFERENTIAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF SPECIFIC BRAIN REGIONS INVOLVED IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, SPECIFICALLY WORKING MEMORY, WHICH HAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO IMPROVE WITH YOGA PRACTICE. FUTURE STUDIES NEED TO EXAMINE INTERVENTION EFFECTS OF YOGA AND EXPLORE ITS POTENTIAL TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE COGNITIVE HEALTH ACROSS THE LIFESPAN THROUGH LONGITUDINAL AND INTERVENTION STUDIES. 2018 14 2720 33 YOGA MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT GREATER GRAY MATTER VOLUME AND FEWER REPORTED COGNITIVE FAILURES: RESULTS OF A PRELIMINARY VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS. HATHA YOGA TECHNIQUES, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES (ASANAS), BREATHING EXERCISES (PRANAYAMA), AND MEDITATION, INVOLVE THE PRACTICE OF MINDFULNESS. IN TURN, YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICES MAY INDUCE THE STATE OF MINDFULNESS, WHICH, WHEN EVOKED RECURRENTLY THROUGH REPEATED PRACTICE, MAY ACCRUE INTO TRAIT OR DISPOSITIONAL MINDFULNESS. PUTATIVELY, THESE CHANGES MAY BE MEDIATED BY EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES. THOUGH PRIOR STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED DIFFERENCES IN GRAY MATTER VOLUME (GMV) BETWEEN LONG-TERM MINDFULNESS PRACTITIONERS AND CONTROLS, NO STUDIES TO DATE HAVE REPORTED ON WHETHER YOGA MEDITATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH GMV DIFFERENCES. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED GMV DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOGA MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS (YMP) AND A MATCHED CONTROL GROUP (CG). THE YMP GROUP EXHIBITED GREATER GM VOLUME IN FRONTAL, LIMBIC, TEMPORAL, OCCIPITAL, AND CEREBELLAR REGIONS; WHEREAS THE CG HAD NO GREATER REGIONAL GREATER GMV. IN ADDITION, THE YMP GROUP REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER COGNITIVE FAILURES ON THE COGNITIVE FAILURES QUESTIONNAIRE (CFQ), THE MAGNITUDE OF WHICH WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH GMV IN NUMEROUS REGIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE PRIMARY ANALYSIS. LASTLY, GMV WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE DURATION OF YOGA PRACTICE. RESULTS FROM THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY SUGGEST THAT HATHA YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROMOTION OF NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES IN EXECUTIVE BRAIN SYSTEMS, WHICH MAY CONFER THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS THAT ACCRUE WITH REPEATED PRACTICE. 2012 15 1289 29 GREATER WIDESPREAD FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE CAUDATE IN OLDER ADULTS WHO PRACTICE KRIPALU YOGA AND VIPASSANA MEDITATION THAN IN CONTROLS. THERE HAS BEEN A GROWING INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING HOW CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES AFFECT BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION. HOWEVER, MOST STUDIES HAVE RESTRICTED THEIR EXPLORATION TO PREDEFINED NETWORKS. FURTHERMORE, SCIENTIFIC COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENT CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS ARE LARGELY LACKING. HERE WE EXPLORED DIFFERENCES IN WHOLE BRAIN RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS, EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS, AND MATCHED CONTROLS. ANALYSES WERE REPEATED IN AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLE OF EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS AND MATCHED CONTROLS. ANALYSES UTILIZING NETWORK-BASED STATISTICS (ZALESKY ET AL., 2010) REVEALED DIFFERENCE COMPONENTS FOR YOGA PRACTITIONERS > CONTROLS AND MEDITATORS > CONTROLS IN WHICH THE RIGHT CAUDATE WAS A CENTRAL NODE. FOLLOW UP ANALYSES REVEALED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND MEDITATORS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DEGREE CENTRALITY IN THE CAUDATE THAN CONTROLS. THIS GREATER DEGREE CENTRALITY WAS NOT DRIVEN BY SINGLE CONNECTIONS BUT BY GREATER CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE CAUDATE AND NUMEROUS BRAIN REGIONS. FINDINGS OF GREATER CAUDATE CONNECTIVITY IN MEDITATORS THAN IN CONTROLS WAS REPLICATED IN AN INDEPENDENT DATASET. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS HAVE STRONGER FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY WITHIN BASAL GANGLIA CORTICO-THALAMIC FEEDBACK LOOPS THAN NON-PRACTITIONERS. ALTHOUGH WE COULD NOT PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR ITS MECHANISTIC ROLE, THIS GREATER CONNECTIVITY MIGHT BE RELATED TO THE OFTEN REPORTED EFFECTS OF MEDITATION AND YOGA ON BEHAVIORAL FLEXIBILITY, MENTAL HEALTH, AND WELL-BEING. 2015 16 1641 21 MONITORING THE NEURAL ACTIVITY OF THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE WHILE PRACTICING SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. OBJECTIVE: TO IDENTIFY THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE AS EXPERIENCED THROUGH SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. DESIGN: NINETEEN EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS UNDERWENT FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING DURING THREE SHORT CONSECUTIVE MEDITATION PERIODS, CONTRASTED WITH A CONTROL RELAXATION CONDITION. RESULTS: RELATIVE TO BASELINE, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEDITATION SESSIONS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF ACTIVATION IN BILATERAL INFERIOR FRONTAL AND TEMPORAL REGIONS. ACTIVATION BECAME PROGRESSIVELY MORE REDUCED WITH DEEPER MEDITATION STAGES AND IN THE LAST MEDITATION SESSION IT BECAME LOCALIZED TO THE RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL CORTEX/ RIGHT INSULA AND RIGHT MIDDLE/SUPERIOR TEMPORAL CORTEX. FURTHERMORE, RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL ACTIVATION WAS DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECTIVE DEPTH OF THE MENTAL SILENCE EXPERIENCE. CONCLUSIONS: MEDITATORS APPEAR TO PASS THROUGH AN INITIAL INTENSE NEURAL SELF-CONTROL PROCESS NECESSARY TO SILENCE THEIR MIND. AFTER THIS THEY EXPERIENCE RELATIVELY REDUCED BRAIN ACTIVATION CONCOMITANT WITH THE DEEPENING OF THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE OVER RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL CORTEX, PROBABLY REFLECTING AN EFFORTLESS PROCESS OF ATTENTIONAL CONTEMPLATION ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STATE. 2015 17 1266 24 FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION IN AGING YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE DOCUMENTED THE NORMAL AGE-RELATED DECLINE OF NEURAL STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT MEDITATION MAY REDUCE DECLINE IN SPECIFIC COGNITIVE DOMAINS AND IN BRAIN STRUCTURE. HERE WE EXTENDED THIS RESEARCH BY INVESTIGATING THE RELATION BETWEEN AGE AND FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND RESTING STATE BRAIN FUNCTIONAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE USING GRAPH THEORY, IN MIDDLE-AGED YOGA AND MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS, AND MATCHED CONTROLS. FLUID INTELLIGENCE DECLINED SLOWER IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND MEDITATORS COMBINED THAN IN CONTROLS. RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL NETWORKS OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND MEDITATORS COMBINED WERE MORE INTEGRATED AND MORE RESILIENT TO DAMAGE THAN THOSE OF CONTROLS. FURTHERMORE, MINDFULNESS WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH FLUID INTELLIGENCE, RESILIENCE, AND GLOBAL NETWORK EFFICIENCY. THESE FINDINGS REVEAL THE POSSIBILITY TO INCREASE RESILIENCE AND TO SLOW THE DECLINE OF FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND BRAIN FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE AND SUGGEST THAT MINDFULNESS PLAYS A MECHANISTIC ROLE IN THIS PRESERVATION. 2014 18 1051 28 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVES AND STRUCTURAL ACTIVATION: A REVIEW. PREVIOUS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THE VAST MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA. YOGA PRACTICE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO SUBCATEGORIES THAT INCLUDE POSTURE-HOLDING EXERCISE (ASANA), BREATHING (PRANAYAMA, KRIYA), AND MEDITATION (SAHAJ) PRACTICE. STUDIES MEASURING MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES HAVE SHOWN DECREASES IN ANXIETY, AND INCREASES IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AFTER YOGA INTERVENTIONS. SIMILAR STUDIES HAVE ALSO SHOWN COGNITIVE ADVANTAGES AMONGST YOGA PRACTITIONERS VERSUS NON-PRACTITIONERS. THE MENTAL HEALTH AND COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF YOGA ARE EVIDENT, BUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN THAT LEAD TO THIS REMAIN A TOPIC THAT LACKS CONSENSUS. THEREFORE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE AND REVIEW EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON BRAIN WAVES AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND ACTIVATION. AFTER A NARROWED SEARCH THROUGH A SET OF SPECIFIC INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA, 15 ARTICLES WERE USED IN THIS REVIEW. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT BREATHING, MEDITATION, AND POSTURE-BASED YOGA INCREASED OVERALL BRAIN WAVE ACTIVITY. INCREASES IN GRAYGRAY MATTER ALONG WITH INCREASES IN AMYGDALA AND FRONTAL CORTEX ACTIVATION WERE EVIDENT AFTER A YOGA INTERVENTION. YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR A CLINICAL AND HEALTHY AGING POPULATION. FURTHER RESEARCH CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC BRANCHES OF YOGA ON A DESIGNATED CLINICAL POPULATION. 2015 19 1565 28 LOW AND THEN HIGH FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS OF DISTINCT RIGHT CORTICAL NETWORKS ARE PROGRESSIVELY ENHANCED BY MEDIUM AND LONG TERM SATYANANDA YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE. MEDITATION PROFICIENCY IS RELATED TO TRAIT-LIKE (LEARNED) EFFECTS ON BRAIN FUNCTION, DEVELOPED OVER TIME. PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOW INCREASES IN EEG POWER IN LOWER FREQUENCY BANDS (THETA, ALPHA) IN EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS IN BOTH MEDITATION STATES AND BASELINE CONDITIONS. HIGHER GAMMA BAND POWER HAS BEEN FOUND IN ADVANCED BUDDHIST MEDITATORS, YET IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THIS OCCURS IN YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICES. THIS STUDY USED ELORETA TO COMPARE DIFFERENCES IN CORTICAL SOURCE ACTIVITY UNDERLYING SCALP EEG FROM INTERMEDIATE (MEAN EXPERIENCE 4 YEARS) AND ADVANCED (MEAN EXPERIENCE 30 YEARS) AUSTRALIAN MEDITATORS FROM THE SATYANANDA YOGA TRADITION DURING A BODY-STEADINESS MEDITATION, MANTRA MEDITATION, AND NON-MEDITATION MENTAL CALCULATION CONDITION. INTERMEDIATE YOGA MEDITATORS SHOWED GREATER SOURCE ACTIVITY IN LOW FREQUENCIES (PARTICULARLY THETA AND ALPHA1) DURING MENTAL CALCULATION, BODY-STEADINESS AND MANTRA MEDITATION. A SIMILAR SPATIAL PATTERN OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WAS FOUND IN ALL CONDITIONS BUT THE NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT VOXELS WAS DOUBLE DURING BODY-STEADINESS AND MANTRA MEDITATION THAN IN THE NON-MEDITATION (CALCULATION) CONDITION. THESE DIFFERENCES WERE GREATEST IN RIGHT (R) SUPERIOR FRONTAL AND R PRECENTRAL GYRI AND EXTENDED BACK TO INCLUDE THE R PARIETAL AND OCCIPITAL LOBES. ADVANCED YOGA MEDITATORS SHOWED GREATER ACTIVITY IN HIGH FREQUENCIES (BETA AND ESPECIALLY GAMMA) IN ALL CONDITIONS BUT GREATLY EXPANDED DURING MEDITATION PRACTICE. ACROSS ALL CONDITIONS (MEDITATION AND NON-MEDITATION) DIFFERENCES WERE GREATEST IN THE SAME REGIONS: R INSULA, R INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS AND R ANTERIOR TEMPORAL LOBE. DISTINCT R CORE NETWORKS WERE IDENTIFIED IN ALPHA1 (8-10 HZ) AND GAMMA (25-42 HZ) BANDS, RESPECTIVELY. THE VOXELS RECRUITED TO THESE NETWORKS GREATLY EXPANDED DURING MEDITATION PRACTICE TO INCLUDE HOMOLOGOUS REGIONS OF THE LEFT HEMISPHERE. FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION PARALLELS TRADITIONALLY DESCRIBED STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN YOGA PROFICIENCY. 2014 20 1668 28 NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE ON EMOTION AND COGNITION: A PILOT STUDY. MINDFULNESS MEDITATION INVOLVES ATTENDING TO EMOTIONS WITHOUT COGNITIVE FIXATION OF EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. OVER TIME, THIS PRACTICE IS HELD TO PROMOTE ALTERATIONS IN TRAIT AFFECTIVITY AND ATTENTIONAL CONTROL WITH RESULTANT EFFECTS ON WELL-BEING AND COGNITION. HOWEVER, RELATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING THE NEURAL SUBSTRATES OF MEDITATION EFFECTS ON EMOTION AND COGNITION. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF EMOTION INTERFERENCE ON COGNITION IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND A MATCHED CONTROL GROUP (CG) UNDERWENT FMRI WHILE PERFORMING AN EVENT-RELATED AFFECTIVE STROOP TASK. THE TASK INCLUDES IMAGE VIEWING TRIALS AND STROOP TRIALS BRACKETED BY NEUTRAL OR NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL DISTRACTORS. DURING IMAGE VIEWING TRIALS, YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBITED LESS REACTIVITY IN RIGHT DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (DLPFC) TO NEGATIVE AS COMPARED TO NEUTRAL IMAGES; WHEREAS THE CG HAD THE OPPOSITE PATTERN. A MAIN EFFECT OF VALENCE (NEGATIVE > NEUTRAL) WAS OBSERVED IN LIMBIC REGIONS (E.G., AMYGDALA), OF WHICH THE MAGNITUDE WAS INVERSELY RELATED TO DLPFC ACTIVATION. EXPLORATORY ANALYSES REVEALED THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF AMYGDALA ACTIVATION PREDICTED DECREASED SELF-REPORTED POSITIVE AFFECT IN THE CG, BUT NOT AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. DURING STROOP TRIALS, YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD GREATER ACTIVATION IN VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (VLPFC) DURING STROOP TRIALS WHEN NEGATIVE, COMPARED TO NEUTRAL, EMOTIONAL DISTRACTOR WERE PRESENTED; THE CG EXHIBITED THE OPPOSITE PATTERN. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT THOUGH YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT LIMBIC REACTIVITY TO NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL STIMULI, SUCH REACTIVITY DOES NOT HAVE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS ON LATER MOOD STATE. THIS UNCOUPLING OF VIEWING NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL IMAGES AND AFFECT AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE OCCASIONED BY THEIR SELECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF FRONTAL EXECUTIVE-DEPENDENT STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMOTIONAL INTERFERENCE DURING COMPETING COGNITIVE DEMANDS AND NOT DURING EMOTIONAL PROCESSING PER SE. 2012