1 455 125 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
2 1667 51 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
3 176 51 A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF KUNDALINI YOGA IN MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. BACKGROUND: GLOBAL POPULATION AGING WILL RESULT IN INCREASING RATES OF COGNITIVE DECLINE AND DEMENTIA. THUS, EFFECTIVE, LOW-COST, AND LOW SIDE-EFFECT INTERVENTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF COGNITIVE DECLINE ARE URGENTLY NEEDED. OUR STUDY IS THE FIRST TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) TRAINING ON MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI). METHODS: OLDER PARTICIPANTS (>/=55 YEARS OF AGE) WITH MCI WERE RANDOMIZED TO EITHER A 12-WEEK KY INTERVENTION OR MEMORY ENHANCEMENT TRAINING (MET; GOLD-STANDARD, ACTIVE CONTROL). COGNITIVE (I.E. MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING) AND MOOD (I.E. DEPRESSION, APATHY, AND RESILIENCE) ASSESSMENTS WERE ADMINISTERED AT BASELINE, 12 WEEKS AND 24 WEEKS. RESULTS: AT BASELINE, 81 PARTICIPANTS HAD NO SIGNIFICANT BASELINE GROUP DIFFERENCES IN CLINICAL OR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS. AT 12 WEEKS AND 24 WEEKS, BOTH KY AND MET GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MEMORY; HOWEVER, ONLY KY SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING. ONLY THE KY GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND RESILIENCE AT WEEK 12. CONCLUSION: KY GROUP SHOWED SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENTS IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING AS COMPARED TO MET, AND BROADER EFFECTS ON DEPRESSED MOOD AND RESILIENCE. THIS OBSERVATION SHOULD BE CONFIRMED IN FUTURE CLINICAL TRIALS OF YOGA INTERVENTION FOR TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF COGNITIVE DECLINE (NCT01983930). 2017
4 1121 37 EFFICACY OF INTEGRATED YOGA AND AYURVEDA RASAYANA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN ELDERLY WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: NON-RANDOMIZED THREE-ARM CLINICAL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: YOGA AND AYURVEDA ARE ANCIENT SCIENCES WHICH EMPHASIZE ON THE CURE OF DISEASE AND THE PROPORTION OF HEALTH. BOTH SCIENCES ARE ALSO KNOWN TO REDUCE THE AGING PROCESS AND ARE HELPFUL IN AGING-RELATED DISORDERS. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND AYURVEDA RASAYANA COMBINED INTERVENTION ON COGNITION AMONG THE ELDERLY WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SEVENTY-TWO ELDERLY PERSONS (AVERAGE AGE 63.3 +/- 6.44 YEARS) RECEIVED AYURVEDA RASAYANA (AR) (N = 23) OR INTEGRATED YOGA (IY) (N = 25) OR COMBINED (IY PLUS AR) INTERVENTION (N = 24) FOR EIGHT WEEKS. AR TREATMENT CONSISTED OF BRAHMI GHRITA, AND IY CONSISTED OF ASANA, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, AND RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, VERBAL FLUENCY, ATTENTION, PROCESSING SPEED, SHORT-TERM AND WORKING MEMORY, AND LEARNING AND VERBAL MEMORY WERE ASSESSED AT THE BASELINE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS. RESULTS: WITHIN-GROUP ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT TIME MAIN EFFECT (P < 0.05) IN ALL COGNITIVE MEASURES IN THE THREE GROUPS (IY, AR, AND IY PLUS AR) EXCEPT DIGIT BACKWARD TEST. BONFERRONI POST HOC TEST SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PRE TO POST IN ALL VARIABLES. IN THE BETWEEN-GROUP ANALYSIS, THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL GROUP DIFFERENCE FOR REY'S AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST- HITS, F (2,69) = 4.376 (P < 0.016), REY'S AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST-AVERAGE, F (2,69) = 4.727 (0.012), DIGIT BACKWARD TEST, F (2,69) = 5.766 (0.005) AFTER EIGHT WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: BOTH AYURVEDA RASAYANA AND INTEGRATED YOGA INTERVENTION WERE FOUND EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING COGNITIVE ABILITIES AMONG THE ELDERLY WITH MCI. COMBINED AYURVEDA RASAYANA AND YOGA INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED LEARNING, ATTENTION, PROCESSING SPEED, AND WORKING MEMORY COMPARED TO INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE AMONG ELDERLY PERSONS WITH MCI. 2022
5 2179 33 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON PATIENTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA: A SCOPING REVIEW. YOGA IS AN ANCIENT MIND BODY PRACTICE. ALTHOUGH YOGA HAS BEEN USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACH FOR ENHANCING WELLNESS AND ADDRESSING A VARIETY OF HEALTH ISSUES, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN ADULTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI) AND DEMENTIA. WE CONDUCTED A LITERATURE REVIEW TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON PERSONS WITH MCI AND DEMENTIA. EIGHT STUDIES WERE IDENTIFIED THAT REPORTED ON YOGA AS EITHER THE PRIMARY INTERVENTION OR ONE COMPONENT OF A MULTI-COMPONENT INTERVENTION IN SAMPLES OF PERSONS WITH MCI OR DEMENTIA. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA MAY HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING, PARTICULARLY ON ATTENTION AND VERBAL MEMORY. FURTHER, YOGA MAY AFFECT COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING THROUGH IMPROVED SLEEP, MOOD, AND NEURAL CONNECTIVITY. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LIMITATIONS OF THE EXISTING STUDIES, INCLUDING A LACK OF INTERVENTION DETAILS, AS WELL AS VARIABILITY IN THE FREQUENCY/DURATION AND COMPONENTS OF THE YOGA INTERVENTIONS. A FURTHER COMPLICATING ISSUE IS THE ROLE OF VARIOUS UNDERLYING ETIOLOGIES OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. DESPITE THESE LIMITATIONS, PROVIDERS MAY CONSIDER RECOMMENDING YOGA TO PERSONS WITH MCI OR DEMENTIA AS A SAFE AND POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACH. 2019
6 1241 45 FEASIBILITY OF A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS A POTENTIALLY LOW RISK INTERVENTION FOR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT THAT COMBINES MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PRACTICE AND INCLUDES INSTRUCTION ON BREATHING, STRESS REDUCTION, AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION. PREVIOUS RESEARCH DOCUMENTS THAT YOGA CAN TARGET MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS FOR MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI) PROGRESSION. THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE A RANDOMIZED FEASIBILITY TRIAL OF YOGA FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH MCI. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE 37 INDIVIDUALS WITH AMNESTIC MCI WHO WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE 12 WEEKS OF TWICE-WEEKLY YOGA INTERVENTION (YI) OR HEALTHY LIVING EDUCATION (HLE) CLASSES. ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY WERE ASSESSED BY TRACKING ADVERSE EVENTS, CLASS ATTENDANCE, AND PARTICIPANT SATISFACTION. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND MOOD MEASURES AS WELL AS MEASURES OF POTENTIAL INTERVENTION MECHANISMS AT BASELINE AND IMMEDIATELY POSTINTERVENTION. RESULTS: PARTICIPANTS IN BOTH CONDITIONS REPORTED HIGH LEVELS OF SATISFACTION AND REASONABLE CLASS ATTENDANCE RATES. HOME PRACTICE RATES WERE LOW. THERE WERE NO ADVERSE EVENTS DEEMED RELATED TO THE YI. RESULTS SHOWED A MEDIUM EFFECT SIZE IN FAVOR OF THE YI IN VISUOSPATIAL SKILLS. THE YOGA GROUP ALSO SHOWED A LARGE EFFECT SIZE INDICATING DECLINE IN PERCEIVED STRESS COMPARED WITH THE HLE GROUP, WHEREAS HLE RESULTED IN GREATER REDUCTIONS IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AFTER THE INTERVENTION (LARGE EFFECT SIZE). CONCLUSIONS: STUDY FINDINGS INDICATED THAT THE YI WAS SAFE, MODESTLY FEASIBLE, AND ACCEPTABLE TO OLDER ADULTS WITH MCI. THE AUTHORS FOUND PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE THAT YOGA MAY IMPROVE VISUOSPATIAL FUNCTIONING IN INDIVIDUALS WITH MCI. RESULTS SUPPORT STRESS REDUCTION AS A POSSIBLE MECHANISM FOR THE YI. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD ADDRESS A YI IN A LARGER SAMPLE AND INCLUDE STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE ENGAGEMENT AND HOME PRACTICE. 2022
7 2277 24 THE ROLES OF EXERCISE AND YOGA IN AMELIORATING DEPRESSION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO EFFECTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL TREATMENTS TO REDUCE COGNITIVE DECLINE OR PREVENT DEMENTIA. AT THE SAME TIME, THE GLOBAL POPULATION IS AGING, AND RATES OF DEMENTIA AND MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (MCI) ARE ON THE RISE. AS SUCH, THERE IS AN INCREASING INTEREST IN COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTIONS TO TREAT OR REDUCE THE RISK OF COGNITIVE DECLINE. DEPRESSION IS ONE POTENTIALLY MODIFIABLE RISK FACTOR FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE AND DEMENTIA. NOTABLY, EXERCISE AND YOGA ARE TWO INTERVENTIONS KNOWN TO BOTH REDUCE SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION AND IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION. THE CURRENT REVIEW DISCUSSES THE EFFICACY OF EXERCISE AND YOGA TO AMELIORATE DEPRESSION AND THEREBY REDUCE THE RISK OF COGNITIVE DECLINE AND POTENTIALLY PREVENT DEMENTIA. POTENTIAL MECHANISMS OF CHANGE, TREATMENT IMPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS ARE DISCUSSED. 2016
8 86 23 A MINDFUL YOGA INTERVENTION FOR YOUNG WOMEN WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER: DESIGN AND BASELINE SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. OBJECTIVES: DESPITE THE GAINS MADE BY CURRENT FIRST-LINE INTERVENTIONS FOR MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD), MODEST RATES OF TREATMENT RESPONSE AND HIGH RELAPSE INDICATE THE NEED TO AUGMENT EXISTING INTERVENTIONS. FOLLOWING THEORY AND INITIAL RESEARCH INDICATING THE PROMISE OF MINDFUL YOGA INTERVENTIONS (MYIS), THIS STUDY EXAMINES MINDFUL YOGA AS A TREATMENT OF MDD. METHODS/DESIGN: THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL USES A SAMPLE OF YOUNG FEMALES (18-34 YEARS) TO EXAMINE THE EFFICACY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF A 9-WEEK MANUALIZED MYI ADDED TO TREATMENT AS USUAL (TAU) VERSUS TAU ALONE. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES CONSIST OF CLINICIAN-ADMINISTERED (HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE) AND SELF-REPORT (DEPRESSION-ANXIETY-STRESS SCALES) MEASURES OF DEPRESSION. UNDERLYING MECHANISMS WILL BE EXAMINED, INCLUDING RUMINATION, NEGATIVE SELF-EVALUATION, INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY, INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS, AND DISPOSITIONAL MINDFULNESS. ASSESSMENTS WERE CONDUCTED AT PREINTERVENTION AND WILL BE CONDUCTED AT POSTINTERVENTION, 6-, AND 12-MONTH FOLLOW UP. RESULTS: THE BASELINE SAMPLE CONSISTS OF 171 FEMALES (88 WERE RANDOMIZED INTO THE MYI), REPORTING A BASELINE MAGE = 25.08 YEARS (SDAGE = 4.64), MHAMILTON-DEPRESSION = 18.39 (SDHAMILTON = 6.00), AND A MDASS-DEPRESSION = 21.02 (SDDASS = 9.36). CONCLUSION: THIS TRIAL WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE BENEFITS OF ADDING YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS TO TAU FOR YOUNG WOMEN WITH MDD AND THE MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH SUCH BENEFITS MAY OCCUR. 2020
9 2761 55 YOGA PREVENTS GRAY MATTER ATROPHY IN WOMEN AT RISK FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. BACKGROUND: FEMALE SEX, SUBJECTIVE COGNITIVE DECLINE (SCD), AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS (CVRFS) ARE KNOWN RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD). WE PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED THAT YOGA IMPROVED DEPRESSION, RESILIENCE, MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS, INCREASED HIPPOCAMPAL CHOLINE CONCENTRATIONS, AND MODULATED BRAIN CONNECTIVITY IN OLDER ADULTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. OBJECTIVE: IN THIS STUDY (NCT03503669), WE INVESTIGATED BRAIN GRAY MATTER VOLUME (GMV) CHANGES IN OLDER WOMEN WITH SCD AND CVRFS FOLLOWING THREE MONTHS OF YOGA COMPARED TO MEMORY ENHANCEMENT TRAINING (MET). METHODS: ELEVEN WOMEN (MEAN AGE = 61.45, SD = 6.58) WITH CVRF AND SCD COMPLETED TWELVE WEEKS OF KUNDALINI YOGA AND KIRTAN KRIYA (KY + KK) WHILE ELEVEN WOMEN (MEAN AGE = 64.55, SD = 6.41) UNDERWENT MET. ANXIETY, RESILIENCE, STRESS, AND DEPRESSION WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND 12 WEEKS, AS WERE T1-WEIGHTED MRI SCANS (SIEMENS 3T PRISMA SCANNER). WE USED FREESURFER 6.0 AND TESTED GROUP DIFFERENCES IN GMV CHANGE, APPLYING MONTE-CARLO SIMULATIONS WITH ALPHA = 0.05. REGION-OF-INTEREST ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED FOR HIPPOCAMPUS AND AMYGDALA. RESULTS: COMPARED TO KY + KK, MET SHOWED REDUCTIONS IN GMV IN LEFT PREFRONTAL, PRE- AND POST-CENTRAL, SUPRAMARGINAL, SUPERIOR TEMPORAL AND PERICALCARINE CORTICES, RIGHT PARACENTRAL, POSTCENTRAL, SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR PARIETAL CORTICES, THE BANKS OF THE SUPERIOR TEMPORAL SULCUS, AND THE PARS OPERCULARIS. RIGHT HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME INCREASED AFTER YOGA BUT DID NOT SURVIVE CORRECTIONS. CONCLUSION: YOGA TRAINING MAY OFFER NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS COMPARED TO MET IN PREVENTING NEURODEGENERATIVE CHANGES AND COGNITIVE DECLINE, EVEN OVER SHORT TIME INTERVALS. FUTURE ANALYSES WILL ADDRESS CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN BOTH GROUPS. 2022
10 1857 38 RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION IN RESIDENTS FROM ELDERLY HOMES: EFFECTS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION. CONTEXT: ELDERLY HAVE INCREASED RISK FOR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA. YOGA THERAPY MAY BE HELPFUL IN ELDERLY TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION. AIMS: WE EXAMINED THE BENEFITS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION COMPARED WITH WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN THE RESIDENTS OF ELDERLY HOMES. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: SINGLE BLIND CONTROLLED STUDY WITH BLOCK RANDOMIZATION OF ELDERLY HOMES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: STUDY SAMPLE INCLUDED YOGA GROUP (N=62) AND WAITLIST GROUP (N=58). A TOTAL OF 87 SUBJECTS (YOGA=44, WAITLIST=43) COMPLETED THE STUDY PERIOD OF 6 MONTHS. YOGA GROUP RECEIVED DAILY YOGA SESSIONS FOR 1 MONTH, WEEKLY UNTIL 3(RD) MONTH AND ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE UNSUPERVISED UNTIL 6 MONTHS. THEY WERE ASSESSED ON REY'S AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (RAVLT), REY'S COMPLEX FIGURE TEST (CFT), WECHSLER'S MEMORY SCALE (WMS)-DIGIT AND SPATIAL SPAN, CONTROLLED ORAL WORD ASSOCIATION (COWA) TEST, STROOP COLOR WORD INTERFERENCE TEST AND TRAIL MAKING TEST A AND B AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 6(TH) MONTH. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PAIRED T-TEST AND ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE (ANCOVA) TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENCE IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST SCORES. RESULTS: YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED RECALL OF VERBAL (RAVLT) AND VISUAL MEMORY (CFT), ATTENTION AND WORKING MEMORY (WMS-SPATIAL SPAN), VERBAL FLUENCY (COWA), EXECUTIVE FUNCTION (STROOP INTERFERENCE) AND PROCESSING SPEED (TRAIL MAKING TEST-A) THAN WAITLIST GROUP AT THE END OF 6 MONTHS AFTER CORRECTING FOR CORRESPONDING BASELINE SCORE AND EDUCATION. CONCLUSION: YOGA BASED-INTERVENTION APPEARS BENEFICIAL TO IMPROVE SEVERAL DOMAINS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN ELDERLY LIVING IN RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES. STUDY FINDINGS NEED TO BE INTERPRETED AFTER CONSIDERING METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS LIKE LACK OF ACTIVE COMPARISON GROUP. 2013
11 1286 42 GRAY MATTER AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE DURING SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. SOME MEDITATION TECHNIQUES TEACH THE PRACTITIONER TO ACHIEVE THE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE BRAIN REGIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR VOLUME AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY (FC) WITH THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE IN LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. TWENTY-THREE LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF THIS MEDITATION WERE SCANNED USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING. IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE, WE TESTED WHICH GRAY MATTER VOLUMES (GMV) WERE CORRELATED WITH THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE AND WHICH REGIONS THESE AREAS WERE FUNCTIONALLY CONNECTED TO UNDER A MEDITATION CONDITION. GMV IN MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX INCLUDING ROSTRAL ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH THE SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION OF THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE INSIDE THE SCANNER. FURTHERMORE, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FC BETWEEN THIS AREA AND BILATERAL ANTERIOR INSULA/PUTAMEN DURING A MEDITATION-STATE SPECIFICALLY, WHILE DECREASED CONNECTIVITY WITH THE RIGHT THALAMUS/PARAHIPPOCAMPAL GYRUS WAS PRESENT DURING THE MEDITATION-STATE AND THE RESTING-STATE. THE CAPACITY OF LONG-TERM MEDITATORS TO ESTABLISH A DURABLE STATE OF MENTAL SILENCE INSIDE AN MRI SCANNER WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN A MEDIAL FRONTAL REGION THAT IS CRUCIAL FOR TOP-DOWN COGNITIVE, EMOTION AND ATTENTION CONTROL. THIS IS FURTHERMORE CORROBORATED BY INCREASED FC OF THIS REGION DURING THE MEDITATION-STATE WITH BILATERAL ANTERIOR INSULA/PUTAMEN, WHICH ARE IMPORTANT FOR INTEROCEPTION, EMOTION, AND ATTENTION REGULATION. THE FINDINGS HENCE SUGGEST THAT THE DEPTH OF MENTAL SILENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH MEDIAL FRONTO-INSULAR-STRIATAL NETWORKS THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR TOP-DOWN ATTENTION AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL. 2018
12 1304 38 HATHA YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED IN OLDER ADULTS: RESULTS FROM AN 8-WEEK RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE IS WELL DOCUMENTED ACROSS VARIOUS ASPECTS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION, INCLUDING ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED, AND LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS SUCH AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN PREVENTING COGNITIVE DECLINE AND MAINTAINING OR EVEN IMPROVING COGNITIVE FUNCTION. PURPOSE: THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED AMONG OLDER ADULTS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS (N = 118; MEAN AGE, 62 +/- 5.59) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO AN 8-WEEK HATHA YOGA GROUP OR A STRETCHING CONTROL GROUP AND COMPLETED COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS-ATTENTION NETWORK TASK, TRAIL MAKING TEST PARTS A AND B, AND PATTERN COMPARISON TEST-AT BASELINE AND AFTER THE 8-WEEK INTERVENTION. RESULTS: ANALYSES OF COVARIANCE REVEALED SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER REACTION TIMES FOR THE YOGA GROUP ON THE ATTENTION NETWORK TASK'S NEUTRAL, CONGRUENT, AND INCONGRUENT CONDITIONS (P </= 0.04). THE YOGA INTERVENTION ALSO IMPROVED PARTICIPANTS' VISUOSPATIAL AND PERCEPTUAL PROCESSING ON THE TRAIL MAKING TEST PART B (P = 0.002) AND PATTERN COMPARISON (P < 0.001) TESTS. CONCLUSIONS: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE THAT INCLUDES POSTURES, BREATHING, AND MEDITATIVE EXERCISES LEAD TO IMPROVED ATTENTIONAL AND INFORMATION PROCESSING ABILITIES. ALTHOUGH THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS REMAIN LARGELY SPECULATIVE, MORE SYSTEMATIC TRIALS ARE NEEDED TO EXPLORE THE EXTENT OF COGNITIVE BENEFITS AND THEIR NEUROBIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS. 2017
13 1098 46 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
14 629 40 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
15 1670 29 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
16 2693 27 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
17 246 29 A YOGA INTERVENTION FOR POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS: A PRELIMINARY RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL. YOGA MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN THE REDUCTION OF PTSD SYMPTOMOLOGY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF A KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) TREATMENT ON PTSD SYMPTOMS AND OVERALL WELLBEING. TO SUPPLEMENT THE CURRENT FIELD OF INQUIRY, A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL (RCT) WAS CONDUCTED COMPARING AN 8-SESSION KY INTERVENTION WITH A WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. 80 INDIVIDUALS WITH CURRENT PTSD SYMPTOMS PARTICIPATED. BOTH GROUPS DEMONSTRATED CHANGES IN PTSD SYMPTOMOLOGY BUT YOGA PARTICIPANTS SHOWED GREATER CHANGES IN MEASURES OF SLEEP, POSITIVE AFFECT, PERCEIVED STRESS, ANXIETY, STRESS, AND RESILIENCE. BETWEEN-GROUPS EFFECT SIZES WERE SMALL TO MODERATE (0.09-0.25). KY MAY BE AN ADJUNCTIVE OR ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTION FOR PTSD. FINDINGS INDICATE THE NEED FOR FURTHER YOGA RESEARCH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISM OF YOGA IN RELATION TO MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH, GENDER AND ETHNIC COMPARISONS, AND SHORT- AND LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE FOR PSYCHIATRIC CONDITIONS. 2015
18 1544 36 KUNDALINI YOGA MEDITATION VERSUS THE RELAXATION RESPONSE MEDITATION FOR TREATING ADULTS WITH OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD) IS OFTEN A LIFE-LONG DISORDER WITH HIGH PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPAIRMENT. SEROTONIN REUPTAKE INHIBITORS (SRIS) ARE THE ONLY FDA APPROVED DRUGS, AND APPROXIMATELY 50% OF PATIENTS ARE NON-RESPONDERS WHEN USING A CRITERION OF 25% TO 35% IMPROVEMENT WITH THE YALE-BROWN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SCALE (Y-BOCS). ABOUT 30% ARE NON-RESPONDERS TO COMBINED FIRST-LINE THERAPIES (SRIS AND EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION). PREVIOUS RESEARCH (ONE OPEN, ONE RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL) HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT KUNDALINI YOGA (KY) MEDITATION CAN LEAD TO AN IMPROVEMENT IN SYMPTOMS OF OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SEVERITY. WE EXPAND HERE WITH A LARGER TRIAL. DESIGN: THIS TRIAL COMPARED TWO PARALLEL RUN GROUPS [KY VS. RELAXATION RESPONSE MEDITATION (RR)]. PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED BASED ON GENDER AND Y-BOCS SCORES. THEY WERE TOLD TWO DIFFERENT (UNNAMED) TYPES OF MEDITATION WOULD BE COMPARED, AND INFORMED IF ONE SHOWED GREATER BENEFITS, THE GROUPS WOULD MERGE FOR 12 MONTHS USING THE MORE EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION. RATERS WERE BLIND IN PHASE ONE (0-4.5 MONTHS) TO PATIENT ASSIGNMENTS, BUT NOT IN PHASE TWO. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: PRIMARY OUTCOME VARIABLE, CLINICIAN-ADMINISTERED Y-BOCS. SECONDARY SCALES: DIMENSIONAL YALE-BROWN OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE SCALE (CLINICIAN-ADMINISTERED), PROFILE OF MOOD SCALES, BECK ANXIETY INVENTORY, BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY, CLINICAL GLOBAL IMPRESSION, SHORT FORM 36 HEALTH SURVEY. RESULTS: PHASE ONE: BASELINE Y-BOCS SCORES: KY MEAN = 26.46 (SD 5.124; N = 24), RR MEAN = 26.79 (SD = 4.578; N = 24). AN INTENT-TO-TREAT ANALYSIS WITH THE LAST OBSERVATION CARRIED FORWARD FOR DROPOUTS SHOWED STATISTICALLY GREATER IMPROVEMENT WITH KY COMPARED TO RR ON THE Y-BOCS, AND STATISTICALLY GREATER IMPROVEMENT ON FIVE OF SIX SECONDARY MEASURES. FOR COMPLETERS, THE Y-BOCS SHOWED 40.4% IMPROVEMENT FOR KY (N = 16), 17.9% FOR RR (N = 11); 31.3% IN KY WERE JUDGED TO BE IN REMISSION COMPARED TO 9.1% IN RR. KY COMPLETERS SHOWED GREATER IMPROVEMENT ON FIVE OF SIX SECONDARY MEASURES. AT THE END OF PHASE TWO (12 MONTHS), PATIENTS, DRAWN FROM THE INITIAL GROUPS, WHO ELECTED TO RECEIVE KY CONTINUED TO SHOW IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR Y-BOCS SCORES. CONCLUSION: KY SHOWS PROMISE AS AN ADD-ON OPTION FOR OCD PATIENTS UNRESPONSIVE TO FIRST LINE THERAPIES. FUTURE STUDIES WILL ESTABLISH KY'S RELATIVE EFFICACY COMPARED TO EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION AND/OR MEDICATIONS, AND THE MOST EFFECTIVE TREATMENT SCHEDULE. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: WWW.CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, IDENTIFIER NCT01833442. 2019
19 746 29 EFFECT OF SAHAJ YOGA ON NEURO-COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION. COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE IMPAIRED IN MAJOR DEPRESSION. STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENT IN MEMORY, VIGILANCE AND ANXIETY LEVELS. 30 PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION (AGE 18 TO 45 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: GROUP 1: (10 MALES AND 5 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO PRACTISED SAHAJ YOGA MEDITATION AND ALSO RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 2: (9 MALES AND 6 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO ONLY RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 1 PATIENTS WERE ADMINISTERED SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE FOR 8 WEEKS. NEURO-COGNITIVE TEST BATTERY CONSISTING OF LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (LCT), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'A' (TTA), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'B' (TTB), RUFF FIGURAL FLUENCY TEST (RFFT), FORWARD DIGIT SPAN (FDS) & REVERSE DIGIT SPAN TEST (RDS) WAS USED TO ASSESS FOLLOWING COGNITIVE DOMAINS: ATTENTION SPAN, VISUO-MOTOR SPEED, SHORT-TERM MEMORY, WORKING MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. AFTER 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 SUBJECTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT, TTA & TTB BUT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT WAS MORE MARKED IN GROUP 1 SUBJECTS. ALSO, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN RDS SCORES IN ONLY GROUP 1 SUBJECTS (P < 0.05). THE RESULTS THEREBY, DEMONSTRATE THAT SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS OTHER COGNITIVE DOMAINS SEEN WITH CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, CAN LEAD TO ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS LIKE MANIPULATION OF INFORMATION IN THE VERBAL WORKING MEMORY AND ADDED IMPROVEMENT IN ATTENTION SPAN AND VISUO-MOTOR SPEED OF THE DEPRESSIVES. 2006
20 542 35 COMPUTERIZED COGNITIVE TRAINING (CCT) VERSUS YOGA IMPACT ON 12 MONTH POST INTERVENTION COGNITIVE OUTCOME IN INDIVIDUALS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. THERE IS CURRENTLY LIMITED AND MIXED EVIDENCE FOR THE COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF COMPUTERIZED COGNITIVE TRAINING (CCT) AND YOGA IN PERSONS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (PWMCI). THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE BENEFIT OF COMPUTERIZED COGNITIVE TRAINING (CCT) VS. PHYSICAL (YOGA) INTERVENTION ON COGNITIVE ABILITIES. PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY WERE PART OF THE LARGER MAYO CLINIC'S HEALTHY ACTION TO BENEFIT INDEPENDENCE AND THINKING (HABIT) PROGRAM COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS TRIAL. THE HABIT PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR PWMCI AND THEIR CARE PARTNER AND CONSISTS OF FIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS: CCT, MEMORY SUPPORT SYSTEM-CALENDAR (MSS-CALENDAR), WELLNESS EDUCATION, SUPPORT GROUPS, AND YOGA. THE SUBTRACTIVE STUDY DESIGN RANDOMLY WITHHELD ONE OF THE INTERVENTIONS FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE STUDY ARMS. LONGITUDINAL MIXED-EFFECTS REGRESSION MODELS WERE USED TO INVESTIGATE THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CCT AND YOGA HAS A GREATER POSITIVE IMPACT ON PSYCHOMOTOR AND BASIC ATTENTION ABILITIES AT 12 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION AS COMPARED TO THE OTHER HABIT INTERVENTIONS. FINDINGS SHOWED CCT HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT COMPARED TO YOGA ON THE COGSTATE PSYCHOMOTOR/ATTENTION COMPOSITE AT 12 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION (ES = 0.54; UNADJUSTED P VALUE = 0.007, ADJUSTED P VALUE = 0.021). THE IMPACT OF YOGA OR COMBINING CCT WITH YOGA DID NOT SHOW STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT. CONTINUED CCT PRACTICE AT HOME SHOWED FURTHER BENEFIT ON PSYCHOMOTOR/ATTENTION AT 12 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT OF CCT OR YOGA ON COGSTATE LEARNING/WORKING MEMORY COMPOSITE. 2021