1 458 110 CHANGES IN P300 FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) IS A TECHNIQUE THAT COMBINES "STIMULATING" AND "CALMING" PRACTICES, BASED ON A STATEMENT IN ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS SUGGESTING THAT SUCH A COMBINATION MAY BE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL TO REACH A STATE OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM. THE CHANGES IN THE PEAK LATENCY AND PEAK AMPLITUDE OF P300 AUDITORY EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS WERE STUDIED BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF CYCLIC MEDITATION COMPARED TO AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST IN 42 VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 27 +/- 6.3 YEARS), FROM FZ, CZ, AND PZ ELECTRODE SITES REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES. THE SESSIONS WERE ONE DAY APART AND THE ORDER WAS ALTERNATED. THERE WAS REDUCTION IN THE PEAK LATENCIES OF P300 AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ COMPARED TO THE "PRE" VALUES. A SIMILAR TREND OF REDUCTION IN P300 PEAK LATENCIES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ WAS ALSO OBSERVED AFTER SUPINE REST, COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE "PRE" VALUES, ALTHOUGH THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE IN EACH CASE WAS LESS AFTER SUPINE REST COMPARED TO AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION. THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AFTER CM WERE HIGHER AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ SITES COMPARED TO THE "PRE" VALUES. IN CONTRAST, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ AFTER SUPINE REST COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE "PRE" STATE. THE PRESENT RESULTS SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT "CYCLIC" MEDITATION ENHANCES COGNITIVE PROCESSES UNDERLYING THE GENERATION OF THE P300. 2006 2 457 41 CHANGES IN P300 FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (NADISUDDHI PRANAYAMA) ON P300 AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS COMPARED TO A SESSION OF BREATH AWARENESS OF EQUAL DURATION, IN 20 MALE ADULT VOLUNTEERS WHO HAD AN EXPERIENCE OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES FOR MORE THAN THREE MONTHS. PEAK AMPLITUDES AND PEAK LATENCIES OF THE P300 WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE RESPECTIVE SESSIONS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE PEAK LATENCY AT FZ ALONE FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. FOLLOWING BREATH AWARENESS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK AMPLITUDE OF P300 AT CZ. THIS SUGGESTS THAT ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING POSITIVELY INFLUENCES COGNITIVE PROCESSES WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR SUSTAINED ATTENTION AT DIFFERENT SCALP SITES (FRONTAL, VERTEX AND PARIETAL), WHEREAS BREATH AWARENESS BRINGS ABOUT CHANGES AT THE VERTEX ALONE. 2013 3 454 59 CHANGES IN MIDLATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PRACTICING MEDITATION WHILE FOCUSING ON A SOUND OR A SYMBOL INFLUENCED MIDLATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (MLAEPS). CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) IS A TECHNIQUE COMBINING YOGA POSTURES WITH MEDITATION WHILE SUPINE, WHICH HAS INFLUENCED THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL. THE EFFECTS OF CM ON MLAEPS HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY STUDIED. THE MLAEPS WERE STUDIED BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF CM COMPARED TO AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) IN 47 MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE 26.5 +/- 4.4 YEARS), RECORDED FROM THE VERTEX REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES. THE SESSIONS WERE ONE DAY APART AND SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EACH SESSION. THE PA WAVE PEAK LATENCY AND NB WAVE PEAK LATENCY SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FOLLOWING CM COMPARED TO BEFORE CM (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, POST-HOC ANALYSIS WITH LEAST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE, P<0.05). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK AMPLITUDE OF THE NB WAVE (P<0.05) COMPARED TO BEFORE CM. POST SR THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK LATENCY OF THE NA WAVE (P<0.05) COMPARED TO BEFORE SR. IN CONCLUSION FOLLOWING CM THE LATENCIES OF NEURAL GENERATORS CORRESPONDING TO CORTICAL AREAS IS PROLONGED, WHEREAS FOLLOWING SR A SIMILAR CHANGE OCCURS AT MESENCEPHALIC-DIENCEPHALIC LEVELS. 2009 4 1909 29 RIGHT UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING INFLUENCES IPSILATERAL COMPONENTS OF MIDDLE LATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS. A PREVIOUS REPORT DESCRIBED SELECTIVE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES WITH UNINOSTRIL BREATHING. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, MIDDLE LATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (MLAEPS) WERE RECORDED FROM SYMMETRICAL SCALP SITES DURING THE PRACTICE OF UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. THERE WERE TWO SESSIONS (40 MIN EACH) OF RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (RNB) AND OF BREATH AWARENESS (BAW), WITH (I) 'BEFORE', (II) TEST (EITHER RNB OR BAW) AND (III) 'AFTER' PERIODS. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE 14 MALE VOLUNTEERS AGED BETWEEN 18 AND 33 YEARS, AND THE SETTING WAS A YOGA CENTRE. MLAEPS WERE RECORDED FROM SYMMETRICAL SCALP SITES (C4 AND C3). DURING RNB, THE PEAK AMPLITUDES OF TWO NEGATIVE COMPONENTS (VIZ. NA WAVE AND NB WAVE) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ON THE RIGHT SIDE. INCREASED PEAK AMPLITUDES OF NA AND NB WAVES SUGGESTED THAT RNB INCREASED THE NUMBER OF NEURONS RECRUITED ON THE RIGHT SIDE, SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE APPLICATION OF RNB IN CERTAIN PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS WITH CEREBRAL HEMISPHERIC IMBALANCE. 2004 5 747 32 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP) AND VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS) IN EPILEPTICS. THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON 32 PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY ON REGULAR AND MAINTAINED ANTIEPILEPTIC MEDICATION WAS STUDIED. THE PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS: GROUP I PRACTICED SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TWICE DAILY FOR 6 MONTHS UNDER PROPER GUIDANCE; GROUP II PRACTICED POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING THE MEDITATION FOR THE SAME DURATION; AND GROUP III WAS THE CONTROL GROUP. VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS), AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP), BRAINSTEM AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (BAEP), AND MID LATENCY RESPONSES (MLR) WERE RECORDED INITIALLY (0 MONTH) AND AT 3 AND 6 MONTHS FOR EACH GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VCS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE IN GROUP I PARTICIPANTS. NA, THE FIRST PROMINENT NEGATIVE PEAK OF MLR AND PA, THE POSITIVE PEAK FOLLOWING NA DID NOT REGISTER CHANGES IN LATENCY. THE NA-PA AMPLITUDE OF MLR ALSO SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE ABSOLUTE AND INTERPEAK LATENCIES OF BAEP. THE REDUCED LEVEL OF STRESS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE MAY MAKE PATIENTS MORE RESPONSIVE TO SPECIFIC STIMULI. SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION APPEARS TO BRING ABOUT CHANGES IN SOME OF THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES STUDIED IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS. 2000 6 736 29 EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA ON CERVICAL VESTIBULAR EVOKED MYOGENIC POTENTIAL. THE PRESENT STUDY ATTEMPTED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF PRACTICING YOGA ON FUNCTIONING OF SACCULO-COLLIC PATHWAY USING CERVICAL VESTIBULAR EVOKED MYOGENIC POTENTIAL (CVEMP). CVEMP WAS RECORDED FROM 40 PARTICIPANTS (20 WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULARLY AND 20 WHO DO NOT PRACTICE YOGA REGULARLY). THE DIFFERENCES IN AMPLITUDE OF P1, N1, P1-N1 COMPLEX, ASYMMETRY RATIO AND LATENCIES OF P1 AND N1 OF CVEMP WERE COMPARED BETWEEN BOTH THE GROUPS. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY SHOWED THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE (P < 0.05) IN THE AMPLITUDE OF P1, N1 AND P1-N1 COMPLEX AND A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN LATENCY (P < 0.05) FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. THE ASYMMETRY RATIO IN INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER (MEAN = 6.73) COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (MEAN = 19.13). MULTIVARIATE REGRESSION ANALYSES SUGGESTED THAT THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE SIGNIFICANTLY PREDICTED THE AMPLITUDE OF P1-N1 COMPLEX (BETA = 0.70, P < 0.01) AND AMPLITUDE RATIO (BETA = 0.72, P < 0.01). THUS, PRACTICING YOGA IMPROVES POSTURAL CONTROL AND STRENGTHENS THE MUSCLES AND VESTIBULAR SYSTEM LEADING TO ENHANCED CVEMP RESPONSES. THE PLASTIC CHANGES IN THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM AND INCREASED MUSCULAR STRENGTH BECAUSE OF CONSTANT PRACTICING OF YOGA COULD HAVE LED TO CHANGES IN CVEMP RESPONSES. HOWEVER, FURTHER STUDIES ON A LARGER GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR BETTER CLINICAL APPLICABILITY OF THE RESULTS. 2017 7 2511 45 YOGA BREATHING THROUGH A PARTICULAR NOSTRIL IS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTRALATERAL EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL CHANGES. BACKGROUND: IN EARLIER STUDIES UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING WAS SHOWN TO INFLUENCE THE ACTIVITY OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES DIFFERENTLY, BASED ON (I) AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS RECORDED FROM BILATERAL SCALP SITES, AND (II) PERFORMANCE IN HEMISPHERE-SPECIFIC TASKS. BUT CHANGE IN P300 (EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL GENERATED WHEN SUBJECTS ATTEND TO AND DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN STIMULI) FROM BILATERAL SCALP SITES WHEN SUBJECTS WERE PRACTICING UNI- AND ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL BREATHING ARE YET TO BE EXPLORED. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER UNINOSTRIL OR ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING THERE WOULD BE A CHANGE IN THE ABILITY TO PAY ATTENTION TO A GIVEN STIMULUS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY-NINE HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS, WITH AGES BETWEEN 20 AND 45 YEARS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO FIVE SESSIONS, VIZ., (I) RIGHT-, (II) LEFT-, (III) ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (IV) BREATH AWARENESS AND (V) NO INTERVENTION, EACH FOR 45 MIN ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL PARADIGM FROM SITES ON THE LEFT (C3) AND RIGHT (C4), REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES, BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SESSION. RESULTS: POST-HOC ANALYSIS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT SHOWED THAT THE P300 PEAK LATENCY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AT C3 COMPARED TO THAT AT C4, FOLLOWING RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING FACILITATES THE ACTIVITY OF CONTRALATERAL (LEFT) HEMISPHERE, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE P300 TASK. 2012 8 98 35 A NONRANDOMIZED NON-NAIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF KAPALABHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS ON EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN TRAINED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER (1) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND (2) BREATH AWARENESS. DESIGN: THE P300 WAS RECORDED IN PARTICIPANTS OF TWO GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION SESSION (1 MINUTE IN DURATION). SETTINGS AND LOCATION: ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE RECEIVING YOGA TRAINING IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER, SWAMI VIVEKANADA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION IN BANGALORE, INDIA. SUBJECTS: THIRTY (30) MALE PARTICIPANTS FORMED TWO GROUPS (N = 15 EACH) WITH COMPARABLE AGES (WITHIN AN AGE RANGE OF 20-35 YEARS) AND COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE OF THE TWO TECHNIQUES, THE MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BEING 3 MONTHS. INTERVENTIONS: THE TWO GROUPS WERE EACH GIVEN A SEPARATE INTERVENTION. ONE GROUP PRACTICED A HFYB AT A FREQUENCY OF APPROXIMATELY 2.0 HZ, CALLED KAPALABHATI. THE OTHER GROUP PRACTICED BREATH AWARENESS DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR BREATH WHILE SEATED, RELAXED. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL, WHICH IS GENERATED WHEN ATTENDING TO AND DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN AUDITORY STIMULI, WAS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TECHNIQUES. RESULTS: THE P300 PEAK LATENCY DECREASED AFTER HFYB AND THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH PRACTICES (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS), THOUGH VERY DIFFERENT, INFLUENCED THE P300. HFYB REDUCED THE PEAK LATENCY, SUGGESTING A DECREASE IN TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION. BREATH AWARENESS INCREASED THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE, SUGGESTING AN INCREASE IN THE NEURAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THE TASK. 2009 9 737 31 EFFECT OF PRANAYAMA & YOGA-ASANA ON COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN TYPE 2 DIABETES-P3 EVENT RELATED EVOKED POTENTIAL (ERP). BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF DELAYED COGNITION AS MEASURED BY P300, AN EVOKED POTENTIAL IS OBSERVED IN DIABETES MELLITUS. P300 (OR P3) IS A COMPONENT OF ENDOGENOUS CEREBRAL EVOKED RESPONSE THAT ASSESSES HIGHER FUNCTIONS OF THE BRAIN. OUR STUDY AIMS TO SEE THE ROLE OF PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA ON P300 LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS. METHODS: SIXTY PATIENTS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES WERE RECRUITED FROM DIABETIC CLINIC AND DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS - CONTROL GROUP ON ONLY CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY AND YOGA-GROUP ON CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY ALONG WITH PRANAYAMA AND YOGA-ASANA. BASAL RECORDINGS OF P300 AND BLOOD GLUCOSE WERE TAKEN AT THE TIME OF RECRUITMENT AND SECOND RECORDINGS REPEATED AFTER FORTY FIVE DAYS FOR BOTH THE GROUPS. P300 WAS RECORDED ON NIHON KOHDEN NEUROPACK MU MEB 9100 USING AUDITORY "ODD-BALL PARADIGM". THE DATA WERE ANALYSED USING REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) FOLLOWED BY TUKEY'S TEST AT 5 PER CENT LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE. RESULTS: STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE LATENCY AND THE AMPLITUDE OF N200, P300 WAS OBSERVED IN THE YOGA GROUP AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT YOGA HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON P300 AND THUS CAN BE INCORPORATED ALONG WITH THE CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL THERAPY FOR IMPROVING COGNITIVE BRAIN FUNCTIONS IN DIABETES. 2010 10 1694 18 P300 AMPLITUDE AND ANTIDEPRESSANT RESPONSE TO SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY). BACKGROUND: THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT SUDARSHAN KRIYA YOGA (SKY) HAS SIGNIFICANT ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER PRETREATMENT P300 ERP AMPLITUDE PREDICTS ANTIDEPRESSANT RESPONSE TO SKY. METHODS: CONSENTING, DRUG-FREE DEPRESSED PATIENTS (N = 30; DYSTHYMICS, 15, MELANCHOLICS, 15) WHO RECEIVED SKY AS THE SOLE TREATMENT WERE ASSESSED CLINICALLY AT PRETREATMENT, 1 MONTH AND 3 MONTHS. AUDITORY P300 WAS RECORDED BEFORE TREATMENT. RESULTS: TWENTY-TWO PATIENTS RESPONDED FAVOURABLY TO SKY. THE PRETREATMENT P300 AMPLITUDE NEITHER DISTINGUISHED RESPONDERS AND NON-RESPONDERS NOR WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENTIAL RATES OF RESPONSE. DISCUSSION: IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SKY THERAPY IS UNIFORMLY EFFECTIVE REGARDLESS OF THE PRETREATMENT P300 AMPLITUDE. 1998 11 1728 34 PERFORMANCE ON PSYCHOMOTOR TASKS FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PREVIOUSLY CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER CANCELLATION TASK REQUIRING ATTENTION, VISUAL SCANNING, AND MOTOR SPEED. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE PERFORMANCE IN 57 VOLUNTEERS (ALL MALE, M AGE = 26.5 YR., SD = 4.6) IN THREE TASKS, VIZ., A DIGIT-LETTER SUBSTITUTION TASK (DLST), A LETTER-COPYING TASK, AND A CIRCLE-DOTTING TASK. THE DLST ASSESSED ATTENTION AND SPEED OF INFORMATION PROCESSING, WHILE THE OTHER 2 TESTS ASSESSED MOTOR SPEED. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THREE TYPES OF SESSIONS: CYCLIC MEDITATION, SUPINE REST, AND CONTROL (NO INTERVENTION). DLST SCORES AND SCORES FOR LETTER-COPYING AND CIRCLE-DOTTING TASKS IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION; THE SAME SCORES ALSO IMPROVED AFTER SUPINE REST. THERE WAS NO CHANGE AFTER THE NO-INTERVENTION/CONTROL SESSION. FROM THE RESULTS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CONCLUDE WHETHER IMPROVED DLST SCORES AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION WERE DUE TO BETTER INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED OR IMPROVED MOTOR SPEED. 2009 12 1321 25 HEMISPHERE SPECIFIC EEG RELATED TO ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUSLY, FORCED UNILATERAL NOSTRIL BREATHING WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IPSILATERAL, OR CONTRALATERAL CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE CHANGES, OR NO CHANGE. HENCE IT WAS INCONCLUSIVE. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 13 NORMAL HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING ON (A) CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE ASYMMETRY, AND (B) CHANGES IN THE STANDARD EEG BANDS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO THREE SESSIONS (A) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB), (B) BREATH AWARENESS AND (C) QUIET SITTING, ON SEPARATE DAYS. EEG WAS RECORDED FROM BILATERALLY SYMMETRICAL SITES (FP1, FP2, C3, C4, O1 AND O2). ALL SITES WERE REFERENCED TO THE IPSILATERAL EAR LOBE. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE SYMMETRY. THE RELATIVE POWER IN THE THETA BAND WAS DECREASED DURING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) AND THE BETA AMPLITUDE WAS LOWER AFTER ANYB. DURING QUIET SITTING THE RELATIVE POWER IN THE BETA BAND INCREASED, WHILE THE AMPLITUDE OF THE ALPHA BAND REDUCED. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ANYB WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER CALMNESS, WHEREAS QUIET SITTING WITHOUT SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AROUSAL. THE RESULTS IMPLY A POSSIBLE USE OF ANYB FOR STRESS AND ANXIETY REDUCTION. 2017 13 1354 25 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THREE YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE EFFECTS OF THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES WERE EVALUATED ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK WHICH IS A LEFT-HEMISPHERE DOMINANT TASK. THE THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING) WERE SELECTED BECAUSE UNILATERAL FORCED NOSTRIL BREATHING STIMULATES THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE. THERE WERE 20 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 45 YEARS (M AGE=28.4 YR., SD=5.7). ALL SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FOUR SESSIONS, I.E., RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, AND BREATH AWARENESS AS A CONTROL. THE LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, I.E., THERE WERE FEWER ERRORS FOLLOWING RIGHT AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED-RANKS TEST). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE FUNCTION FOUND WITH SELECTIVE NOSTRIL BREATHING. 2007 14 1357 37 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE PERFORMANCE IN A SIX-LETTER CANCELLATION TASK WAS ASSESSED WITH 69 MALE VOLUNTEERS, AGES 18 TO 48 YEARS, IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES AND A CONTROL SESSION OF EQUAL DURATION. THE TECHNIQUES WERE CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST. CYCLIC MEDITATION CONSISTS OF ALTERNATING CYCLES OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST. AFTER BOTH PRACTICES, THE NET SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER, ALTHOUGH THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION THAN AFTER SUPINE REST (24.9% VERSUS 13.6%). THERE WAS REDUCTION IN SCORES FOR WRONG CANCELLATIONS AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION AND NOT AFTER SUPINE REST. THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT CYCLIC MEDITATION BRINGS ABOUT A GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE IN THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION, CONCENTRATION, VISUAL SCANNING ABILITIES, AND A REPETITIVE MOTOR RESPONSE. 2007 15 750 25 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION IN STRESS MANAGEMENT IN PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT ON 32 PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY WHO WERE RENDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS: GROUP I SUBJECTS PRACTISED SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION FOR 6 MONTHS, GROUP II SUBJECTS PRACTISED POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING SAHAJA YOGA AND GROUP III SERVED AS THE EPILEPTIC CONTROL GROUP. GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE (GSR), BLOOD LACTATE AND URINARY VINYL MANDELIC ACID (U-VMA) WERE RECORDED AT 0, 3 AND 6 MONTHS. THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AT 3 & 6 MONTHS AS COMPARED TO 0 MONTH VALUES IN GSR, BLOOD LACTATE AND U-VMA LEVELS IN GROUP I SUBJECTS, BUT NOT IN GROUP II AND GROUP III SUBJECTS. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT REDUCTION IN STRESS FOLLOWING SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLINICAL IMPROVEMENT WHICH HAD BEEN EARLIER REPORTED IN PATIENTS WHO PRACTISED SAHAJA YOGA. 1995 16 72 35 A FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY STUDY OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING COMPARED TO BREATH AWARENESS. BACKGROUND HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (BREATH RATE OF 2.0 HZ) HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN OXY-HEMOGLOBIN IN THE PREFRONTAL REGION OF THE BRAIN. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AT 1.0 HZ ON FRONTAL OXY-HEMOGLOBIN (OXY-HB) AND DEOXY-HEMOGLOBIN (DEOXY-HB). MATERIAL AND METHODS FORTY HEALTHY MALE PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED FOR THE STUDY. THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP CONSISTED OF 20 PARTICIPANTS 23-40 YEARS OLD (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 26.4+/-4.7 YEARS) WITH AT LEAST 3 MONTHS OF EXPERIENCE PERFORMING HFYB (GROUP MEAN +/-S.D., 16.3+/-9.8 MONTHS). THE CONTROL GROUP CONSISTED OF 20 PARTICIPANTS AGES 23-38 YEARS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- S.D., 27.4+/-4.1 YEARS), WHO WERE SEATED QUIETLY FOR THE SAME DURATION AND THEIR AVERAGE EXPERIENCE OF YOGA PRACTICE WAS (+/-S.D.) 4.3+/-2.7 MONTHS. EACH PARTICIPANT IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS ASSESSED AT 2 SESSIONS (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS [BAW]) ON ALTERNATE DAYS. HEMODYNAMIC CHANGES WERE ASSESSED USING A FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY SENSOR PLACED OVER THE FOREHEAD. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSES OF VARIANCE FOLLOWED BY POST HOC BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT. RESULTS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION WAS OBSERVED IN OXY-HB DURING AND AFTER HFYB ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES COMPARED TO VALUES BEFORE. WE ALSO FOUND A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN DEOXY-HB DURING AND AFTER THE QUIET SITTING CONTROL SESSION COMPARED TO PRE-SESSION VALUES ON LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES. CONCLUSIONS THE DECREASE IN OXY-HB DURING AND AFTER HFYB SUGGESTS THAT THERE WAS NO FRONTAL ACTIVATION DURING HFYB WHEN PRACTICED AT THE RATE OF 1.0 HZ. 2016 17 749 22 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE ON SEIZURE CONTROL & EEG CHANGES IN PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON SEIZURE CONTROL AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC ALTERATIONS WAS ASSESSED IN 32 PATIENTS OF IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY. THE SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS. GROUP I (N = 10) PRACTISED SAHAJA YOGA FOR 6 MONTHS, GROUP II (N = 10) PRACTISED EXERCISES MIMICKING SAHAJA YOGA FOR 6 MONTHS AND GROUP III (N = 12) SERVED AS THE EPILEPTIC CONTROL GROUP. GROUP I SUBJECTS REPORTED A 62 PER CENT DECREASE IN SEIZURE FREQUENCY AT 3 MONTHS AND A FURTHER DECREASE OF 86 PER CENT AT 6 MONTHS OF INTERVENTION. POWER SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF EEG SHOWED A SHIFT IN FREQUENCY FROM 0-8 HZ TOWARDS 8-20 HZ. THE RATIOS OF EEG POWERS IN DELTA (D), THETA (T), ALPHA (A) AND BETA (B) BANDS I.E., A/D, A/D + T, A/T AND A + B/D + T WERE INCREASED. PER CENT D POWER DECREASED AND PER CENT A INCREASED. NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN ANY OF THE PARAMETERS WERE FOUND IN GROUPS II AND III, INDICATING THAT SAHAJA YOGA PRACTICE BRINGS ABOUT SEIZURE REDUCTION AND EEG CHANGES. SAHAJA YOGA COULD PROVE TO BE BENEFICIAL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS OF EPILEPSY. 1996 18 1695 32 P300 FOLLOWING FOUR VOLUNTARILY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES AND BREATH AWARENESS. ATTENTION WAS INFLUENCED BY YOGA BREATHING IN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH. EACH YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE UNIQUELY MODIFIES SPECIFIC BREATH CHARACTERISTICS. DIFFERENCES IN THE STUDY DESIGNS, ASSESSMENT METHODS AND INTERVENTIONS RESULTED IN DIFFICULTY IN COMPARING EFFECTS BETWEEN YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. THIS STUDY AIMED (I) TO COMPARE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES ON ATTENTION USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK AND (II) TO DETERMINE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY. P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH HEART RATE VARIABILITY BEFORE AND AFTER 18-MINUTE PERIODS EACH OF (I) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED BREATH FREQUENCY), (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED DEPTH OF RESPIRATION), (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WITH ALTERNATE NOSTRIL PATENCY), (IV) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (WITH PROLONGED EXHALE), (V) BREATH AWARENESS (WITH ATTENTION TO THE BREATH) AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST AS CONTROL IN 38 YOGA EXPERIENCED MALES (AVERAGE AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS). THE SIX SESSIONS WERE ON SEPARATE, RANDOMLY ALLOCATED DAYS. THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE RECORDED AT PZ WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AFTER FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC TESTS, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY FOLLOWING YOGA BREATHING OR CONTROL SESSIONS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INCREASE THE ATTENTIONAL NEURAL RESOURCES ENGAGED FOR THIS AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC OF BREATH UNIQUELY REGULATED IN THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. 2022 19 898 20 EFFECT OF YOGASANAS ON THE VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME. VISUAL AND AUDITORY REACTION TIME (VRT, ART) WAS STUDIED IN 83 HEALTHY MALE SUBJECTS OF 30-40 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAD NEVER PRACTICED YOGASANAS BEFORE. THESE SUBJECTS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS VIZ. GROUP A WHOSE VRT AND ART WAS DETERMINED AFTER 1 HR. YOGASANAS AND GROUP B WHOSE ART AND VRT WAS DETERMINED AFTER 6 WEEKS YOGASANAS TRAINING PROGRAMME. VRT AND ART SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN GROUP A (P LESS THAN .05) AND GROUP B (P LESS THAN .001). 1989 20 655 17 EEG PAROXYSMAL GAMMA WAVES DURING BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA: A YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUE. HERE WE REPORT THAT A SPECIFIC FORM OF YOGA CAN GENERATE CONTROLLED HIGH-FREQUENCY GAMMA WAVES. FOR THE FIRST TIME, PAROXYSMAL GAMMA WAVES (PGW) WERE OBSERVED IN EIGHT SUBJECTS PRACTICING A YOGA TECHNIQUE OF BREATHING CONTROL CALLED BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA (BHPR). TO OBTAIN NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF THE EEG DURING BHPR, WE ANALYZED EEG SIGNALS USING TIME-FREQUENCY REPRESENTATIONS (TFR), INDEPENDENT COMPONENT ANALYSIS (ICA), AND EEG TOMOGRAPHY (LORETA). WE FOUND THAT THE PGW CONSISTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY BIPHASIC RIPPLES. THIS UNUSUAL ACTIVITY IS DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO PREVIOUS REPORTS ON YOGA AND MEDITATION. IT IS CONCLUDED THIS EEG ACTIVITY IS MOST PROBABLY NON-EPILEPTIC, AND THAT APPLYING THE SAME METHODOLOGY TO OTHER MEDITATION RECORDINGS MIGHT YIELD AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEUROCORRELATES OF MEDITATION. 2009