1 1763 93 POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT PRECIPITATED BY YOGA. YOGA HAS RECENTLY BEEN TOUTED AS A MEANS TO IMPROVE PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELL-BEING. HOWEVER, NO FORM OF EXERCISE IS WITHOUT ITS RISKS. A 32-YEAR-OLD CHINESE FEMALE WITH MODERATE MYOPIA COMPLAINED OF RIGHT EYE SUDDEN ONSET OF FLOATERS AND MILD BLURRING OF VISION AFTER THE HEAD-DOWN POSTURE. THE VISUAL ACUITY WAS 6/12 IN THE RIGHT EYE AND 6/9 IN THE LEFT EYE. A RIGHT EYE FUNDUS EXAMINATION SHOWED POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT, WITH A SMALL BLOOD CLOT LOCATED AT THE INFERIOR MARGIN OF THE OPTIC DISC. THE PATIENT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH RIGHT EYE VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE SECONDARY TO ACUTE POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT AND WAS MANAGED CONSERVATIVELY. ACUTE CHANGES IN POSTURE, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN AN UPRIGHT AND A HEAD-DOWN POSITION, MAY CAUSE ACUTE POSTERIOR VITREOUS DETACHMENT. AS YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE REQUIRED TO ASSUME THIS HEAD-DOWN POSITION, MYOPIC PATIENTS SHOULD BE WARNED OF THE POSSIBLE OCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF THIS EXERCISE. 2018 2 2209 19 THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING THE SIRSHASANA, THE YOGA'S HEADSTAND. THIS STUDY ANALYSED THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE GEOMETRIC CURVATURE OF THE SPINE DURING SIRSHASANA. THE POSITION OF DORSAL RETROREFLECTIVE MARKERS WAS COMPUTED VIA STEREOPHOTOGRAMMETRIC ANALYSIS IN SIX MALES AND FIVE FEMALES (29.4 +/- 8.8 YEARS, 63.0 +/- 11.4 KG, 1.66 +/- 0.08 M [AVERAGE +/- STANDARD DEVIATION]). THE SPINAL POINTS WERE PROJECTED ONTO THE SAGITTAL AND FRONTAL PLANES OF THE TRUNK, A POLYNOMIAL WAS FITTED TO THE DATA AND THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRIC CURVATURE WAS QUANTIFIED. THE INFERIOR LUMBAR LORDOSIS DECREASED COMPARED TO THE ORTHOSTATIC POSITION AND GAIT, WHICH MAY FAVOUR THE POSTERIOR PROTRUSION OF THE LUMBAR SPINAL NUCLEUS PULPOSUS IN PEOPLE WITH POSTERIOR HERNIATION. THE LATERAL DEVIATION AT THE MIDDLE OF THE THORACIC SPINE INCREASES DURING SIRSHASANA, WHICH MAY REFLECT INCREASED DIFFICULTIES FOR POSTURAL CONTROL AND SPINAL LOADS. IT COULD BE USEFUL FOR PROMOTING POSITIVE SPINAL STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHRONIC ADAPTATIONS FOR HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS, IF THE YOGA PROGRAMME IS CAREFULLY PLANNED AND THE SPINAL ALIGNMENT IS CAREFULLY MONITORED DURING A HEADSTAND. HOWEVER, IT MAY AGGRAVATE SOME SPINAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY SCOLIOSIS. 2017 3 1287 22 GREATER ANTEROPOSTERIOR DEFAULT MODE NETWORK FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN LONG-TERM ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS. LARGE-SCALE BRAIN NETWORKS EXHIBIT CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY DURING THE AGING PROCESS. RECENT LITERATURE DATA SUGGESTS THAT YOGA AND OTHER CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES MAY REVERT, AT LEAST IN PART, SOME OF THE AGING EFFECTS IN BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY, INCLUDING THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK (DMN). THE AIM OF THIS CROSS-SECTIONAL INVESTIGATION WAS TO COMPARE RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE MEDIAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (MPFC) AND POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX-PRECUNEUS (PCC-PRECUNEUS) IN LONG-TERM ELDERLY YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND HEALTHY PAIRED YOGA-NAIVE CONTROLS. TWO PAIRED GROUPS: YOGA (Y-20 WOMEN, HATHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS; PRACTICING A MINIMUM OF TWICE A WEEK WITH A FREQUENCY OF AT LEAST 8 YEARS) AND A CONTROL GROUP (C-20 WOMEN, YOGA-NAIVE, MATCHED BY AGE, YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY) WERE EVALUATED FOR: MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION (MMSE), BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY (BDI), INSTRUMENTAL ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING (IADL), AND OPEN-EYES RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI)-SEED TO VOXEL CONNECTIVITY ANALYSIS (CONN TOOLBOX 17.F) WITH PRE-PROCESSING-REALIGNMENT AND UNWARPING, SLICE-TIMING CORRECTION, SEGMENTATION, NORMALIZATION, OUTLIER DETECTION, AND SPATIAL FILTERING. THE ANALYSIS INCLUDED A PRIORI REGIONS OF INTEREST (ROI) OF DMN MAIN NODES-MPFC AND PCC-PRECUNEUS. THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS IN TERMS OF: AGE, YEARS OF FORMAL EDUCATION, MMSE, BDI AND IADL. THE YOGA GROUP HAD A HIGHER CORRELATION BETWEEN MPFC AND THE RIGHT ANGULAR GYRUS (AGR), COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS. ELDERLY WOMEN WITH AT LEAST 8 YEARS OF YOGA PRACTICE PRESENTED GREATER INTRA-NETWORK ANTEROPOSTERIOR BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE DMN. THIS FINDING MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFLUENCES OF PRACTICING YOGA FOR A HEALTHIER COGNITIVE AGING PROCESS. 2019 4 1032 24 EFFECTS OF YOGA EXERCISES ON DIABETIC MELLITUS AS VALIDATED BY MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING. CONTEXT AND AIMS: EFFECTS OF PRACTICING YOGA IN DIABETIC MELLITUS (DM) PATIENTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED TO IMPROVE IN CONTROL OF BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK IS TO EVALUATE CHANGES IN BLOOD FLOW OF CALF MUSCLES AFTER SPECIFIC YOGA POSTURES FOR PATIENTS WITH DM USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) TECHNIQUES. TIME OF FLIGHT (TOF) MAGNETIC RESONANCE ANGIOGRAPHY MAXIMUM INTENSITY PROJECTION (MIP), T1 MAPS, T2 MAPS, AND DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED IMAGING ARE PERFORMED ON VOLUNTEERS AND DM PATIENTS BOTH PRE- AND POST-EXERCISE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TOF MIP, T1 MAPS WITH VARIABLE FLIP ANGLES, AND T2-WEIGHTED SPIN-ECHO IMAGING WERE PERFORMED ON FOUR VOLUNTEERS (AGED 30 +/- 5) AND DM PATIENTS (AGED 32-68) PREEXERCISE, ON A 1.5 T SIEMENS SCANNER. THE TOTAL ACQUISITION TIME WAS 6 MIN 20 S. EACH VOLUNTEER AND DM PATIENT WERE THEN REQUESTED TO PERFORM YOGA POSTURES SUPTA PADANGUSTHASANA, UTKATASANA, AND CALF RAISE FOR 6 MIN 30 S AT MAXIMUM EFFORT, OUTSIDE THE SCANNER, AND SUBSEQUENTLY RESCANNED. TO CALCULATE SIGNIFICANT SIGNAL INCREASE, REGION OF INTERESTS WAS DRAWN ON TOF MIP CORONAL IMAGES IN ARTERIES OF CALF MUSCLES. STUDENT T-TESTS WERE PERFORMED TO DETERMINE STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE. RESULTS: AMONG VOLUNTEERS, A SIGNIFICANT SIGNAL INCREASE IN ARTERIES OF CALF MUSCLES WAS NOTICED, SIGNAL INTENSITY GRAPHS WERE PLOTTED. IN DM PATIENTS, SIGNAL INCREASE IN TOF MIP, T2-WEIGHTED IMAGES WERE SEEN IN SPECIFIC ARTERIES (POSTERIOR, ANTERIOR TIBIAL, AND POSTERIOR TIBIAL) OF CALF MUSCLES POSTEXERCISE. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDY INDICATES THAT YOGA HAS A POSITIVE SHORT-TERM EFFECT ON MULTIPLE DM-RELATED FOOT COMPLICATIONS. THIS STUDY DEPICTS THAT MRI PROVIDES POTENTIAL INSIGHT INTO THE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR DM PATIENTS THROUGH DERIVING BIOMARKERS FOR PREVENTIVE MEDICINE RELEVANT TO YOGA INTERCEPTION. 2021 5 1546 17 LATE ANTERIOR PROSTHETIC HIP DISLOCATION DUE TO YOGA. THE POPULARITY OF YOGA AND THE PREVALENCE OF TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY (THA) HAVE SIMULTANEOUSLY INCREASED IN THE UNITED STATES. ACCORDINGLY, ONE CAN ASSUME THAT THE NUMBER OF THA PATIENTS PRACTICING YOGA HAS INCREASED. CERTAIN YOGA POSES REACH THE EXTREMES OF HIP RANGE OF MOTION, POTENTIALLY LEAVING PATIENTS VULNERABLE TO DISLOCATION. TO DATE, 2 CASES OF LATE POSTERIOR PROSTHETIC HIP DISLOCATIONS DURING YOGA HAVE BEEN REPORTED; HOWEVER, THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF ANTERIOR PROSTHETIC HIP DISLOCATIONS. WE PRESENT ONE CASE OF LATE ANTERIOR PROSTHETIC HIP DISLOCATION DURING YOGA IN A PATIENT WHO UNDERWENT THA VIA THE DIRECT ANTERIOR APPROACH. PROSTHETIC HIP DISLOCATION DURING YOGA MAY BE A GROWING CONCERN. WE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THA PATIENTS TO SAFELY PRACTICE YOGA. 2021 6 1286 17 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 7 455 24 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 8 1813 22 PROGRESSION OF GLAUCOMA ASSOCIATED WITH THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE. THIS ARTICLE REPORTS A CASE OF PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NEUROPATHY AND VISUAL FIELD LOSS THAT OCCURRED IN A PATIENT WHO PRACTICED THE SIRSASANA (HEADSTAND) YOGA POSTURE ON A DAILY BASIS FOR MANY YEARS. VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED THROUGH STANDARD AUTOMATED PERIMETRY. INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE (IOP) WAS MEASURED THROUGH PNEUMOTONOMETRY IN THE SITTING POSITION AND IN THE HEAD-DOWN POSITION. STEREO-OPTIC DISC PHOTOGRAPHS WERE OBTAINED. IOP INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE HEAD-DOWN POSITION. OPTIC DISC EVALUATION REVEALED A NEW DISC HEMORRHAGE IN THE LEFT EYE. VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS OVER A PERIOD OF 2 Y SHOWED PROGRESSION OF A SUPERIOR ARCUATE DEFECT IN THE LEFT EYE. TRANSIENT INCREASES IN IOP ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOGA HEADSTAND POSTURE MAY LEAD TO PROGRESSIVE GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC NERVE DAMAGE AND VISUAL FIELD LOSS. 2006 9 1641 17 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 1897 18 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 11 2371 14 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 12 1670 13 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 13 1990 22 SPINAL CURVATURES OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO CONTROL PARTICIPANTS-A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY. PURPOSE: THE ANGLES OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS DETERMINE THE SPINAL ALIGNMENT IN THE SAGITTAL PLANE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO COMPARE THE THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS OF MALE AND FEMALE YOGA PRACTITIONERS WITH NON-PRACTICING PARTICIPANTS AND TO DETERMINE THE POSSIBLE DEPENDENCIES BETWEEN SAGITTAL SPINAL CURVATURES AND SOMATIC PARAMETERS, TIME SPENT ON YOGA EXERCISE, AND UNDERTAKING OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. METHODS: THE STUDY INVOLVED 576 WOMEN AND 91 MEN AGES 18-68 YEARS (MEAN = 38.5 +/- 9) WHO WERE PRACTICING YOGA, AND 402 WOMEN AND 176 MEN AGES 18-30 YEARS (MEAN = 20.2 +/- 1.3) AS A CONTROL GROUP. THE ANGLES OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS WERE MEASURED USING A PLURIMETER-V GRAVITY INCLINOMETER. RESULTS: THE TWO-WAY ANOVA DEMONSTRATED THE INFLUENCE OF GROUP (P < .0001) AND SEX (P = .03) ON THE ANGLE OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS, AS WELL AS THE INFLUENCE OF GROUP (P < .0001) AND SEX (P < .0001) ON THE ANGLE OF LUMBAR LORDOSIS. IT WAS NOTED THAT YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD LESS PRONOUNCED THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS AND WERE MORE OFTEN CHARACTERIZED BY NORMAL OR SMALLER THORACIC KYPHOSIS AND LUMBAR LORDOSIS THAN STUDENTS FROM THE CONTROL GROUP. IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, THE ANGLE OF THORACIC KYPHOSIS WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH AGE, BODY MASS, BMI, AND UNDERTAKING OTHER FORMS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE ANGLE OF LUMBAR LORDOSIS WAS NEGATIVELY CORRELATED WITH BODY HEIGHT AND BODY MASS. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA EXERCISES CAN AFFECT THE SHAPE OF THE ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR CURVES OF THE SPINE AND MAY BE AN EFFICIENT TRAINING METHOD FOR SHAPING PROPER POSTURE IN ADULTS. 2021 14 1439 17 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 15 1472 17 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 16 1496 18 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 17 1547 17 LATE TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY DISLOCATION DUE TO YOGA. YOGA HAS BECOME A POPULAR FORM OF EXERCISE, RECREATION, AND MEDITATION FOR ADULTS IN THE UNITED STATES. AS THE POPULARITY OF BOTH YOGA AND THE INCIDENCE OF HIP REPLACEMENTS HAVE BOTH COINCIDENTALLY INCREASED OVER THE LAST 2 DECADES, WE IMAGINE THAT THE NUMBER OF TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT PATIENTS PARTAKING IN THE PRACTICE OF YOGA HAS ALSO INCREASED. THERE ARE NO CLEAR GUIDELINES AVAILABLE FOR YOGA PRACTICE FOLLOWING HIP REPLACEMENT. TO DATE, THERE HAVE BEEN NO PUBLISHED REPORTS OF PROSTHETIC HIP DISLOCATIONS DURING YOGA. WE PRESENT 2 CASES OF LATE TOTAL HIP DISLOCATIONS DURING YOGA AND PROVIDE A REVIEW OF THE AVAILABLE ORTHOPAEDIC LITERATURE AND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ON PATIENT RESTRICTIONS AND EDUCATION WITH RESPECT TO PRACTICING YOGA AFTER A HIP REPLACEMENT. 2018 18 2714 19 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 19 573 15 DELAYED UNION OF STRESS FRACTURE OF THE FIRST RIB IN A YOGA INSTRUCTOR: A CASE REPORT. CASE: WE DESCRIBE THE CASE OF A 38-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, A YOGA INSTRUCTOR, WHO HAD PAIN IN THE RIGHT SHOULDER AND SCAPULAR REGION OF 4 MONTHS' DURATION WHILE PERFORMING YOGA. RADIOGRAPHY AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY DIAGNOSED DELAYED UNION OF A FIRST RIB STRESS FRACTURE. THE DELAYED UNION OF STRESS FRACTURE OF THE FIRST RIB WAS SUCCESSFULLY TREATED WITH THE LIMITING OF YOGA ACTIVITY AND LOW-INTENSITY PULSED ULTRASOUND (LIPUS). CONCLUSIONS: PHYSICIANS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT EVEN YOGA POSING CAN CAUSE STRESS FRACTURES OF THE FIRST RIB. LIPUS THERAPY MAY BE EFFECTIVE FOR DELAYED UNION IN ADDITION TO REST. 2021 20 1666 18 NEURAL NETWORK-ORIENTED BIG DATA MODEL FOR YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION. THE USE OF COMPUTER VISION FOR TARGET DETECTION AND RECOGNITION HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING AREA OF RESEARCH FOR THE PAST THREE DECADES. PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES AND SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS IN GENERAL CAN BE TRAINED WITH APPROPRIATE SYSTEMS FOR CORRECTIVE TRAINING AND ASSISTIVE TRAINING. SUCH A NEED HAS MOTIVATED RESEARCHERS TO COMBINE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH THE FIELD OF SPORTS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH. IN THIS PAPER, WE PROPOSE A MASK REGION-CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK (MR-CNN)- BASED METHOD FOR YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION BASED ON THE IMAGE TASK OF YOGA MOVEMENT RECOGNITION. THE IMPROVED MR-CNN MODEL IS BASED ON THE FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURE OF THE REGION-CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK, WHICH PROPOSES A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CANDIDATE REGIONS FOR THE IMAGE BY FEATURE EXTRACTION AND CLASSIFIES THEM, THEN OUTPUTS THESE REGIONS AS DETECTED BOUNDING BOXES, AND DOES MASK PREDICTION FOR THE CANDIDATE REGIONS USING SEGMENTATION BRANCHES. THE IMPROVED MR-CNN MODEL USES AN IMPROVED DEEP RESIDUAL NETWORK AS THE BACKBONE NETWORK FOR FEATURE EXTRACTION, BILINEAR INTERPOLATION OF THE EXTRACTED CANDIDATE REGIONS USING REGION OF INTEREST (ROI) ALIGN, FOLLOWED BY TARGET CLASSIFICATION AND DETECTION, AND SEGMENTATION OF THE IMAGE USING THE SEGMENTATION BRANCH. THE MODEL IMPROVES THE CONVOLUTION PART IN THE SEGMENTATION BRANCH BY REPLACING THE ORIGINAL STANDARD CONVOLUTION WITH A DEPTH-SEPARABLE CONVOLUTION TO IMPROVE THE NETWORK EFFICIENCY. EXPERIMENTALLY CONSTRUCTED POLYGON-LABELED DATASETS ARE SIMULATED USING THE ALGORITHM. THE DEEPENING OF THE NETWORK AND THE USE OF DEPTH-SEPARABLE NETWORK IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF DETECTION WHILE MAINTAINING THE RELIABILITY OF THE NETWORK AND VALIDATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPROVED MR-CNN. 2021