1 1472 122 INSULAR CORTEX MEDIATES INCREASED PAIN TOLERANCE IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. YOGA, AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR DISCIPLINE AMONG WESTERNERS, IS FREQUENTLY USED TO IMPROVE PAINFUL CONDITIONS. WE INVESTIGATED POSSIBLE NEUROANATOMICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA USING SENSORY TESTING AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING TECHNIQUES. NORTH AMERICAN YOGIS TOLERATED PAIN MORE THAN TWICE AS LONG AS INDIVIDUALLY MATCHED CONTROLS AND HAD MORE GRAY MATTER (GM) IN MULTIPLE BRAIN REGIONS. ACROSS SUBJECTS, INSULAR GM UNIQUELY CORRELATED WITH PAIN TOLERANCE. INSULAR GM VOLUME IN YOGIS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH YOGA EXPERIENCE, SUGGESTING A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND INSULAR SIZE. YOGIS ALSO HAD INCREASED LEFT INTRAINSULAR WHITE MATTER INTEGRITY, CONSISTENT WITH A STRENGTHENED INSULAR INTEGRATION OF NOCICEPTIVE INPUT AND PARASYMPATHETIC AUTONOMIC REGULATION. YOGIS, AS OPPOSED TO CONTROLS, USED COGNITIVE STRATEGIES INVOLVING PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION AND INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS TO TOLERATE PAIN, WHICH COULD HAVE LED TO USE-DEPENDENT HYPERTROPHY OF INSULAR CORTEX. TOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT REGULAR AND LONG-TERM YOGA PRACTICE IMPROVES PAIN TOLERANCE IN TYPICAL NORTH AMERICANS BY TEACHING DIFFERENT WAYS TO DEAL WITH SENSORY INPUTS AND THE POTENTIAL EMOTIONAL REACTIONS ATTACHED TO THOSE INPUTS LEADING TO A CHANGE IN INSULAR BRAIN ANATOMY AND CONNECTIVITY. 2014 2 722 21 EFFECT OF KARAMARDADI YOGA VERSUS DICLOFENAC SODIUM IN POST-OPERATIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT: A RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE CLINICAL TRIAL. INTRODUCTION: POST-OPERATIVE PAIN IS NOCICEPTIVE I.E., ANTICIPATED UNAVOIDABLE PHYSIOLOGICAL PAIN WHICH IS CAUSED DUE TO TISSUE TRAUMA. DRUGS SUCH AS NSAIDS (NON STEROIDAL ANTI INFLAMMATORY DRUGS) AND OPIOIDS ARE USED FOR POST-OPERATIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT BUT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR OWN DRAWBACKS. KARAMARDADI YOGA HAS BEEN IN USE IN AYURVEDIC PRACTICE FOR ANALGESIA. IT IS KNOWN TO RELIEVE PAIN AND CAN BE USED TO SUPPLEMENT ANAESTHESIA AND ALSO GET RID OF ADVERSE EFFECT OF MODERN ANALGESIC DRUGS. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF KARAMARDADI YOGA AND DICLOFENAC SODIUM IN POST-OPERATIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL WITH GROUP A (CONTROL GROUP: TAB DICLOFENAC SODIUM 50 MG AS A SINGLE DOSE) AND GROUP B (TRIAL GROUP: CAP KARAMARDADI YOGA 500 MG AS A SINGLE DOSE). THOSE WHO HAD UNDERGONE HAEMORRHOIDECTOMY OPERATION UNDER LOCAL ANAESTHESIA WERE SELECTED AS PER INCLUSION CRITERIA. VITALS, DESIRABLE EFFECT AND UNDESIRABLE EFFECT, TOTAL SURGICAL TIME, REQUIREMENT OF 1(ST) DOSE OF ANALGESIC, REQUIREMENT OF RESCUE ANALGESIC AND PAIN DETERMINED BY VAS (VISUAL ANALOG SCALE) WERE THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND WERE OBSERVED AND RECORDED. RESULTS: KARAMARDADI YOGA DOES NOT SHOW ANY UNDESIRABLE OR SERIOUS ILL EFFECTS AND ALTERED VALUES OF VITALS AS PER STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. AS PER VAS SCALE, PAIN FELT BY TRIAL GROUP WAS EARLIER THAN CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: KARAMARDADI YOGA HAS ANALGESIC PROPERTY BUT ITS ANALGESIC PROPERTY AND PAIN THRESHOLD CAPACITY IS LESSER THAN THOSE OF DICLOFENAC SODIUM. 2016 3 1734 22 PERSPECTIVES ON YOGA INPUTS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN. CHRONIC PAIN IS MULTI-DIMENSIONAL. AT THE PHYSICAL LEVEL ITSELF, BEYOND THE NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAY, THERE IS HYPER AROUSAL STATE OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, WHICH NEGATIVELY INFLUENCES TENSION COMPONENT OF THE MUSCLES, PATTERNS OF BREATHING, ENERGY LEVELS AND MINDSET, ALL OF WHICH EXACERBATE THE DISTRESS AND AFFECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY. BEGINNING WITH THE PHYSICAL BODY, YOGA EVENTUALLY INFLUENCES ALL ASPECTS OF THE PERSON: VITAL, MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL. IT OFFERS VARIOUS LEVELS AND APPROACHES TO RELAX, ENERGIZE, REMODEL AND STRENGTHEN BODY AND PSYCHE. THE ASANAS AND PRANAYAMA HARMONIZE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SYSTEM AND INITIATE A "RELAXATION RESPONSE" IN THE NEURO ENDOCRINAL SYSTEM. THIS CONSISTS OF DECREASED METABOLISM, QUIETER BREATHING, STABLE BLOOD PRESSURE, REDUCED MUSCLE TENSION, LOWER HEART RATE AND SLOW BRAIN WAVE PATTERN. AS THE NEURAL DISCHARGE PATTERN GETS MODULATED, HYPER AROUSAL OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE STATIC LOAD ON POSTURAL MUSCLE COME DOWN. THE FUNCTION OF VISCERA IMPROVES WITH THE SENSE OF RELAXATION AND SLEEP GETS DEEPER AND SUSTAINED; FATIGUE DIMINISHES. SEVERAL SUBTLE LEVEL NOTIONAL CORRECTIONS CAN HAPPEN IN CASE THE SUBJECT MEDITATES AND THAT CHANGES THE CONTEXT OF THE DISEASE, PAIN AND THE MEANING OF LIFE. MEDITATION AND PRANAYAMA, ALONG WITH RELAXING ASANAS, CAN HELP INDIVIDUALS DEAL WITH THE EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF CHRONIC PAIN, REDUCE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION EFFECTIVELY AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE PERCEIVED. 2010 4 2887 27 YOGA: CAN IT BE INTEGRATED WITH TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN? BACKGROUND: NEUROPATHIC PAIN (NP) IS A DEBILITATING CONDITION THAT MAY RESULT FROM SPINAL CORD INJURY (SCI). NEARLY 75% OF ALL SCI RESULTS IN NP AFFECTING 17,000 NEW INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES EVERY YEAR, AND AN ESTIMATED 7-10% OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. IT IS CAUSED BY DAMAGED OR DYSFUNCTIONAL NERVE FIBERS SENDING ABERRANT SIGNALS TO PAIN CENTERS IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM CAUSING SEVERE PAIN THAT AFFECTS DAILY LIFE AND ROUTINE. THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING NP ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD, MAKING TREATMENT DIFFICULT. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC MOLECULAR PATHWAYS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN PAIN SYNDROMES AND FINDING EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS HAS BECOME A MAJOR PRIORITY IN CURRENT SCI RESEARCH. YOGA HAS THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS MAY PROVE BENEFICIAL IN TREATING SUBJECTS SUFFERING CHRONICALLY WITH SCI INDUCED NP, CHRONIC BACK AND ASSOCIATED PAINS IF NECESSARY EXPERIMENTAL DATA IS GENERATED. SUMMARY: THIS REVIEW AIMS TO DISCUSS THE IMPLICATIONS OF VARIOUS MECHANISTIC APPROACHES OF YOGA WHICH CAN BE TESTED BY NEW STUDY DESIGNS AROUND VARIOUS NOCICEPTIVE MOLECULES INCLUDING MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASES (MMPS), CATION-DEPENDENT CHLORIDE TRANSPORTER (NKCC1) ETC IN SCI INDUCED NP PATIENTS. KEY MESSAGES: THUS, YOGIC PRACTICES COULD BE USED IN MANAGING SCI INDUCED NP PAIN BY REGULATING THE ACTION OF VARIOUS MECHANISMS AND ITS ASSOCIATED MOLECULES. MODERN PRESCRIPTIVE TREATMENT STRATEGIES COMBINED WITH ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES LIKE YOGA SHOULD BE USED IN REHABILITATION CENTERS AND CLINICS IN ORDER TO AMELIORATE CHRONIC NP. WE RECOMMEND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF CAREFUL YOGA PRACTICE AS PART OF AN INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE APPROACH FOR NP ASSOCIATED WITH SCI. 2019 5 1286 43 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 6 1670 37 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 7 1347 29 HYPOXIA IN CNS PATHOLOGIES: EMERGING ROLE OF MIRNA-BASED NEUROTHERAPEUTICS AND YOGA BASED ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES. CELLULAR RESPIRATION IS A VITAL PROCESS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF LIFE. ANY CONDITION THAT RESULTS IN DEPRIVATION OF OXYGEN (ALSO TERMED AS HYPOXIA) MAY EVENTUALLY LEAD TO DELETERIOUS EFFECTS ON THE FUNCTIONING OF TISSUES. BRAIN BEING THE HIGHEST CONSUMER OF OXYGEN IS PRONE TO INCREASED RISK OF HYPOXIA-INDUCED NEUROLOGICAL INSULTS. THIS IN TURN HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH MANY DISEASES OF CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) SUCH AS STROKE, ALZHEIMER'S, ENCEPHALOPATHY ETC. ALTHOUGH SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ISCHEMIC/HYPOXIC CNS DISEASES, THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PROTECTIVE THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES TO AMELIORATE THE AFFECTED NEURONAL CELLS IS MEAGER. THIS HAS AUGMENTED THE NEED TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE HYPOXIC AND ISCHEMIC EVENTS OCCURRING IN THE BRAIN AND IDENTIFY NOVEL AND ALTERNATE TREATMENT MODALITIES FOR SUCH INSULTS. MICRORNA (MIRNAS), SMALL NON-CODING RNA MOLECULES, HAVE RECENTLY EMERGED AS POTENTIAL NEUROPROTECTIVE AGENTS AS WELL AS TARGETS, UNDER HYPOXIC CONDITIONS. THESE 18-22 NUCLEOTIDE LONG RNA MOLECULES ARE PROFUSELY PRESENT IN BRAIN AND OTHER ORGANS AND FUNCTION AS GENE REGULATORS BY CLEAVING AND SILENCING THE GENE EXPRESSION. IN BRAIN, THESE ARE KNOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN NEURONAL DIFFERENTIATION AND PLASTICITY. THEREFORE, TARGETING MIRNA EXPRESSION REPRESENTS A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC APPROACH TO INTERCEDE AGAINST HYPOXIC AND ISCHEMIC BRAIN INJURY. IN THE FIRST PART OF THIS REVIEW, WE WILL DISCUSS THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES CAUSED AS A RESULT OF HYPOXIA, FOLLOWED BY THE CONTRIBUTION OF HYPOXIA IN THE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. SECONDLY, WE WILL PROVIDE RECENT UPDATES AND INSIGHTS INTO THE ROLES OF MIRNA IN THE REGULATION OF GENES IN OXYGEN AND GLUCOSE DEPRIVED BRAIN IN ASSOCIATION WITH CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS AND HOW THESE CAN BE TARGETED AS NEUROPROTECTIVE AGENTS FOR CNS INJURIES. FINALLY, WE WILL EMPHASIZE ON ALTERNATE BREATHING OR YOGIC INTERVENTIONS TO OVERCOME THE HYPOXIA ASSOCIATED ANOMALIES THAT COULD ULTIMATELY LEAD TO IMPROVEMENT IN CEREBRAL PERFUSION. 2017 8 433 15 CAN YOGA THERAPY STIMULATE STEM CELL TRAFFICKING FROM BONE MARROW? IT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS (MSCS) FROM BONE MARROW ENTER THE PERIPHERAL CIRCULATION INTERMITTENTLY FOR POSSIBLE TISSUE REGENERATION, REPAIR AND TO TAKE CARE OF DAILY WEAR AND TEAR. THIS IS EVIDENT FROM THE DETECTION OF MSCS FROM PERIPHERAL BLOOD. THE FACTORS GOVERNING THIS MIGRATION REMAIN ELUSIVE. THESE MSCS CARRY OUT THE WORK OF POLICING AND ARE SUPPOSED TO REPAIR THE INJURED TISSUES. THUS, THESE CELLS HELP IN MAINTAINING THE TISSUE AND ORGAN HOMEOSTASIS. YOGA AND PRANAYAMA ORIGINATED IN INDIA AND IS NOW BEING PRACTICED ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR POSITIVE HEALTH. SO FAR, THE CHEMICAL STIMULATION OF BONE MARROW HAS BEEN WIDELY USED EMPLOYING INJECTION OF COLONY STIMULATING FACTOR. HOWEVER, THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL FACTORS SUCH AS MECHANICAL STIMULATION AND STRETCHING HAS NOT BEEN SUBSTANTIATED. IT IS CLAIMED THAT PRACTICING YOGA DELAYS SENESCENCE, IMPROVES THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF HEART AND LUNG AND YOGA POSTURES MAKE THE BODY ELASTIC. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER THE YOGA THERAPY PROMOTES TRAFFICKING OF THE STEM CELLS FROM BONE MARROW FOR POSSIBLE REPAIR AND REGENERATION OF WORN OUT AND DEGENERATING TISSUES. WE COVER IN THIS SHORT REVIEW, MAINLY THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL FACTORS ESPECIALLY THE YOGA THERAPY ON STEM CELLS TRAFFICKING FROM BONE MARROW. 2016 9 1641 23 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 10 82 30 A MECHANISTIC MODEL FOR YOGA AS A PREVENTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC MODALITY. YOGA IS AN ANCIENT INDIAN TECHNIQUE OF HEALTHY LIVING. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE CORROBORATED YOGA'S BENEFICIAL EFFECTS, INCLUDING A FAVORABLE INFLUENCE ON AUTONOMIC FUNCTION AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS. EXTENSIVE RESEARCH IN THE LAST FEW DECADES HAS REVEALED THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT YOGA CAN PLAY IN ERADICATING STRESS. THIS HAS LAID TO THE FOUNDATION FOR A SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES ATTRIBUTED TO STRESS, PARTICULARLY AT THE MOLECULAR AND GENETIC LEVELS. THIS PRIMARILY HAS HELPED UNDERSTAND THE EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC MECHANISM AT PLAY TO INDUCE AND ALLEVIATE STRESS, PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATED TO EMOTIONAL ABERRATIONS. AS RESEARCH HAS INDICATED, NEGATIVE EMOTIONS ARE TRANSLATED INTO VASCULAR INFLAMMATION APPROPRIATELY ACCENTUATED BY A SYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANT AUTONOMIC FUNCTION. THIS CASCADE IS BOLSTERED BY MULTIPLE FACTORS, INCLUDING ACTIVATION OF "STRESSOR" GENES AND ELABORATING HORMONES, INCLUDING STEROIDS WITH SOMETIMES NOCUOUS CONSEQUENCES, PARTICULARLY WHEN CHRONIC. YOGA HAS BEEN CATEGORICALLY FOUND TO HAVE INHIBITED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE BANEFUL EFFECTS OF STRESS. IN FACT, IT ALSO CHANGES THE NEURONAL CIRCUITS THAT POTENTIATE SUCH A PLETHORA OF PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES. THIS, IN TURN, HAS ACCENTUATED YOGA'S RELEVANCE AS A POWERFUL PREVENTIVE INTERVENTION IN NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCD). NCDS, INCLUDING HEART DISEASE, STROKE, AND RHEUMATOLOGICAL DISORDERS, ARE ESSENTIALLY INFLAMMATORY DISEASES THAT PERPETUATE INFLAMMATION IN DIFFERENT BEDS LIKE VASCULAR OR JOINT SPACES. THE PRECISE MECHANISM BY WHICH YOGA INDUCES SUCH BENEFICIAL CHANGES IS YET TO BE DELINEATED. HOWEVER, A CORNUCOPIA OF POINTERS INDICATES THAT NEURAL, ENDOCRINE, IMMUNOLOGICAL, CELLULAR, GENETIC, AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ARE AT PLAY. THIS ARTICLE ATTEMPTS TO COBBLE TOGETHER NEWFANGLED RESEARCH TO DELINEATE A MEDICAL MODEL FOR THIS 5000-YEAR-OLD PRACTICE FROM INDIA. THIS IS IMPERATIVE, AS A MECHANISTIC MODEL OF THIS ANCIENT-BUT-COMPLEX SYSTEM WOULD ENABLE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF ITS MECHANISM AND REVEAL ITS YET-UNDISCOVERED POSITIVE HEALTH EFFECTS. 2021 11 1496 33 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 12 2886 26 YOGA: BALANCING THE EXCITATION-INHIBITION EQUILIBRIUM IN PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. SOCIAL BEHAVIORAL DISTURBANCES ARE CENTRAL TO MOST PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS. A DISEQUILIBRIUM WITHIN THE CORTICAL EXCITATORY AND INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMITTER SYSTEMS UNDERLIES THESE DEFICITS. GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA) AND GLUTAMATE ARE THE MOST ABUNDANT EXCITATORY AND INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN THE BRAIN THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THIS EQUILIBRIUM. SEVERAL CONTEMPORARY THERAPIES USED IN TREATING PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, REGULATE THIS GABA-GLUTAMATE BALANCE. YOGA HAS BEEN STUDIED AS AN ADJUVANT TREATMENT ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS AND IS SHOWN TO HAVE SHORT-TERM THERAPEUTIC GAINS. EMERGING EVIDENCE FROM RECENT CLINICAL IN VIVO EXPERIMENTS SUGGESTS THAT YOGA IMPROVES GABA-MEDIATED CORTICAL-INHIBITORY TONE AND ENHANCES PERIPHERAL OXYTOCIN LEVELS. THIS IS LIKELY TO HAVE A MORE CONTROLLED DOWNSTREAM RESPONSE OF THE HYPOTHALAMO-PITUITARY-ADRENAL SYSTEM BY MEANS OF REDUCED CORTISOL RELEASE AND HENCE A BLUNTED SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE TO STRESS. ANIMAL AND EARLY FETAL DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES SUGGEST AN INTER-DEPENDENT ROLE OF OXYTOCIN AND GABA IN REGULATING SOCIAL BEHAVIORS. IN KEEPING WITH THESE OBSERVATIONS, WE PROPOSE AN INTEGRATED NEUROBIOLOGICAL MODEL TO STUDY THE MECHANISMS OF THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS WITH YOGA. APART FROM PROVIDING A NEUROSCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR APPLYING A TRADITIONAL SYSTEM OF PRACTICE IN THE CLINICAL SETTING, THIS MODEL CAN BE USED AS A FRAMEWORK FOR STUDYING YOGA MECHANISMS IN FUTURE CLINICAL TRIALS. 2019 13 1639 21 MODULATION OF IMMUNE RESPONSES IN STRESS BY YOGA. STRESS IS A CONSTANT FACTOR IN TODAY'S FASTPACED LIFE THAT CAN JEOPARDIZE OUR HEALTH IF LEFT UNCHECKED. IT IS ONLY IN THE LAST HALF CENTURY THAT THE ROLE OF STRESS IN EVERY AILMENT FROM THE COMMON COLD TO AIDS HAS BEEN EMPHASIZED, AND THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS HAVE BEEN STUDIED. STRESS INFLUENCES THE IMMUNE RESPONSE PRESUMABLY THROUGH THE ACTIVATION OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY ADRENAL AXIS, HYPOTHALAMIC PITUITARY-GONADAL AXIS, AND THE SYMPATHETIC-ADRENAL-MEDULLARY SYSTEM. VARIOUS NEUROTRANSMITTERS, NEUROPEPTIDES, HORMONES, AND CYTOKINES MEDIATE THESE COMPLEX BIDIRECTIONAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON THE IMMUNE RESPONSES RESULT IN ALTERATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF IMMUNE CELLS AND CYTOKINE DYSREGULATION. VARIOUS STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES SUCH AS MEDITATION, YOGA, HYPNOSIS, AND MUSCLE RELAXATION HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF STRESS IN CANCERS AND HIV INFECTION. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO DISCUSS THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND EXAMINE HOW RELAXATION TECHNIQUES SUCH AS YOGA AND MEDITATION COULD REGULATE THE CYTOKINE LEVELS AND HENCE, THE IMMUNE RESPONSES DURING STRESS. 2008 14 1897 25 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 15 1439 34 INCREASED GREY MATTER ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION: A VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY STUDY. OBJECTIVES: TO INVESTIGATE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN GREY MATTER VOLUME ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRACTICE OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION. DESIGN: TWENTY THREE EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION AND TWENTY THREE NON-MEDITATORS MATCHED ON AGE, GENDER AND EDUCATION LEVEL, WERE SCANNED USING STRUCTURAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING AND THEIR GREY MATTER VOLUME WERE COMPARED USING VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY. RESULTS: GREY MATTER VOLUME WAS LARGER IN MEDITATORS RELATIVE TO NON-MEDITATORS ACROSS THE WHOLE BRAIN. IN ADDITION, GREY MATTER VOLUME WAS LARGER IN SEVERAL PREDOMINANTLY RIGHT HEMISPHERIC REGIONS: IN INSULA, VENTROMEDIAL ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX, INFERIOR TEMPORAL AND PARIETAL CORTICES AS WELL AS IN LEFT VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND LEFT INSULA. NO AREAS WITH LARGER GREY MATTER VOLUME WERE FOUND IN NON-MEDITATORS RELATIVE TO MEDITATORS. CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDY SHOWS THAT LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GREY MATTER VOLUME OVERALL, AND WITH REGIONAL ENLARGEMENT IN SEVERAL RIGHT HEMISPHERIC CORTICAL AND SUBCORTICAL BRAIN REGIONS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SUSTAINED ATTENTION, SELF-CONTROL, COMPASSION AND INTEROCEPTIVE PERCEPTION. THE INCREASED GREY MATTER VOLUME IN THESE ATTENTION AND SELF-CONTROL MEDIATING REGIONS SUGGESTS USE-DEPENDENT ENLARGEMENT WITH REGULAR PRACTICE OF THIS MEDITATION. 2016 16 2338 28 UNIQUE AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO PAIN IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVE: AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH NEUROBEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF PAIN. YOGIS USE BREATHING, RELAXATION, AND MINDFULNESS TO TOLERATE PAIN, WHICH COULD INFLUENCE AUTONOMIC RESPONSES. TO EVALUATE HOW THE LINK BETWEEN AUTONOMIC RESPONSES AND PAIN IS ALTERED BY OTHER FACTORS, WE COMPARED PERCEPTUAL AND AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO PAIN BETWEEN YOGIS AND CONTROLS. METHODS: NINETEEN YOGIS AND 15 CONTROLS RATED WARM AND PAINFULLY HOT STIMULI (1-CM THERMODE ON CALF), WITH VISUAL ANTICIPATORY CUES INDICATING CERTAINLY PAINFUL, CERTAINLY NONPAINFUL, OR UNCERTAINLY EITHER PAINFUL OR NONPAINFUL. HEART RATE, SKIN CONDUCTANCE, RESPIRATION, AND BLOOD PRESSURE WERE MEASURED. RESULTS: AT BASELINE, YOGIS BREATHED SLOWER AND DEEPER THAN DID CONTROLS, WITH NO DIFFERENCES IN OTHER AUTONOMIC MEASURES. DURING THE TASK, PERCEPTUAL RATINGS DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN GROUPS IN EITHER THE CERTAIN OR UNCERTAIN CONDITIONS. NEVERTHELESS, YOGIS HAD HIGHER PHASIC SKIN CONDUCTANCE RESPONSES IN ANTICIPATION OF AND RESPONSE TO ALL STIMULI, BUT PARTICULARLY DURING PAINFUL HEAT IN UNCERTAIN CONTEXTS (UNCERTAIN: 0.46 [0.34] MUS; CERTAIN: 0.37 [0.28] MUS; T(18) = 3.962, P = .001). FURTHERMORE, CONTROLS SHOWED A DECREASE IN HEART RATE TO WARM (-2.51 [2.17] BEATS/MIN) VERSUS PAINFUL STIMULI (0.83 [1.63] BEATS/MIN; T(13) = 5.212, P < .001) AND LOWER RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA DURING PAIN COMPARED WITH WARM TRIALS, WHEREAS YOGIS HAD SIMILAR REACTIONS TO PAINFUL AND NONPAINFUL STIMULI. CONCLUSIONS: AUTONOMIC RESPONSES TO PAIN DIFFERED IN YOGIS AND HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS, DESPITE SIMILAR PAIN RATINGS. THUS, AUTONOMIC REACTIVITY TO PAIN MAY BE ALTERED BY ENVIRONMENTAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THROUGHOUT AN INDIVIDUAL'S LIFE. 2018 17 2714 30 YOGA LESSONS FOR CONSCIOUSNESS RESEARCH: A PARALIMBIC NETWORK BALANCING BRAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION. CONSCIOUSNESS HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO PLAY A KEY ROLE IN SHAPING FLEXIBLE LEARNING AND AS SUCH IS THOUGHT TO CONFER AN EVOLUTIONARY ADVANTAGE. ATTENTION AND AWARENESS ARE THE PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT UNDERLYING PROCESSES, YET THEIR PRECISE RELATIONSHIP IS PRESENTLY UNCLEAR. BOTH OF THESE PROCESSES MUST, HOWEVER, SERVE THE EVOLUTIONARY IMPERATIVES OF SURVIVAL AND PROCREATION. THEY ARE THUS INTIMATELY BOUND BY REWARD AND EMOTION TO HELP TO PRIORITIZE EFFICIENT BRAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN ORDER TO PREDICT AND OPTIMIZE BEHAVIOR. HERE WE SHOW HOW THIS PROCESS IS SERVED BY A PARALIMBIC NETWORK CONSISTING PRIMARILY OF REGIONS LOCATED ON THE MIDLINE OF THE HUMAN BRAIN. USING MANY DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES, EXPERIMENTS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT THIS NETWORK IS EFFECTIVE AND SPECIFIC FOR SELF-AWARENESS AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE SENSE OF UNITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS BY ACTING AS A COMMON NEURAL PATH FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCES. INTERESTINGLY, HEMODYNAMIC ACTIVITY IN THE NETWORK DECREASES WITH FOCUSING ON EXTERNAL STIMULI, WHICH HAS LED TO THE IDEA OF A DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. THIS NETWORK IS ONE OF MANY NETWORKS THAT WAX AND VANE AS RESOURCES ARE ALLOCATED TO ACCOMMODATE THE DIFFERENT CYCLICAL NEEDS OF THE ORGANISM PRIMARILY RELATED TO THE FUNDAMENTAL PLEASURES AFFORDED BY EVOLUTION: FOOD, SEX, AND CONSPECIFICS. HERE WE HYPOTHESIZE, HOWEVER, THAT THE PARALIMBIC NETWORK SERVES A CRUCIAL ROLE IN BALANCING AND REGULATING BRAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND DISCUSS HOW IT CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS A LINK BETWEEN CURRENT THEORIES OF SO-CALLED "DEFAULT MODE," "RESTING STATE NETWORKS," AND "GLOBAL WORKSPACE." WE SHOW HOW MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS OF SELF-AWARENESS AND SELF-CONTROL CAN ARISE FROM PROBLEMS IN THE PARALIMBIC NETWORK AS DEMONSTRATED HERE BY THE EXAMPLE OF ASPERGER SYNDROME. WE CONCLUDE THAT ATTENTION, AWARENESS, AND EMOTION ARE INTEGRATED BY A PARALIMBIC NETWORK THAT HELPS TO EFFICIENTLY ALLOCATE BRAIN RESOURCES TO OPTIMIZE BEHAVIOR AND HELP SURVIVAL. 2011 18 1836 21 PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF THE PRACTICE OF TANTRIC YOGA MEDITATION. AUTONOMIC AND ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC (EEG) CORRELATES OF TANTRIC YOGA MEDITATION WERE STUDIED IN THREE GROUPS OF SUBJECTS AS THEY PROGRESSED FROM NORMAL CONSCIOUSNESS INTO MEDITATION. GROUPS DIFFERED IN THEIR LEVEL OF MEDITATION PROFICIENCY. MEASURES OF SKIN RESISTANCE, HEART RATE, RESPIRATION, AUTONOMIC ORIENTING RESPONSES, RESTING EEG, EEG ALPHA AND THETA FREQUENCIES, SLEEP-SCORED EEG, AVERAGED EVOKED RESPONSES, AND SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE WERE EMPLOYED. UNLIKE MOST PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MEDITATION STUDIES, PROFICIENT MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED INCREASED AUTONOMIC ACTIVATION DURING MEDITATION WHILE UNEXPERIENCED MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED AUTONOMIC RELAXATION. DURING MEDITATION, PROFICIENT MEDITATORS DEMONSTRATED INCREASED ALPHA AND THETA POWER, MINIMAL EVIDENCE OF EEG-DEFINED SLEEP, AND DECREASED AUTONOMIC ORIENTING TO EXTERNAL STIMULATION. AN EPISODE OF SUDDEN AUTONOMIC ACTIVATION WAS OBSERVED THAT WAS CHARACTERIZED BY THE MEDITATOR AS AN APPROACH TO THE YOGIC ECSTATIC STATE OF INTENSE CONCENTRATION. THESE FINDINGS CHALLENGE THE CURRENT "RELAXATION" MODEL OF MEDITATIVE STATES. 1978 19 2724 11 YOGA NEUROPATHY. A SNOOZER. SCIATIC NERVE COMPRESSION VERY RARELY OCCURS BILATERALLY. THE AUTHORS PRESENT A WOMAN WITH PROFOUND LOWER EXTREMITY WEAKNESS AND SENSORY ABNORMALITY AFTER FALLING ASLEEP IN THE HEAD-TO-KNEES YOGA POSITION (ALSO CALLED "PASCHIMOTTANASANA"). CLINICAL AND ELECTRODIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL AND A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IS PRESENTED. 2005 20 1266 31 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