1 2761 165 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 2 1593 43 MEDITATION AND YOGA PRACTICE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SMALLER RIGHT AMYGDALA VOLUME: THE ROTTERDAM STUDY. TO DETERMINE THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MEDITATION AND YOGA PRACTICE, EXPERIENCED STRESS, AND AMYGDALA AND HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME IN A LARGE POPULATION-BASED STUDY. THIS STUDY WAS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE POPULATION-BASED ROTTERDAM STUDY AND INCLUDED 3742 PARTICIPANTS FOR CROSS-SECTIONAL ASSOCIATION. PARTICIPANTS FILLED OUT A QUESTIONNAIRE ASSESSING MEDITATION PRACTICE, YOGA PRACTICE, AND EXPERIENCED STRESS, AND UNDERWENT A MAGNETIC RESONANCE SCAN OF THE BRAIN. 2397 PARTICIPANTS UNDERWENT MULTIPLE BRAIN SCANS, AND WERE ASSESSED FOR STRUCTURAL CHANGE OVER TIME. AMYGDALA AND HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUMES WERE REGIONS OF INTEREST, AS THESE ARE STRUCTURES THAT MAY BE AFFECTED BY MEDITATION. MULTIVARIABLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND MIXED LINEAR MODELS WERE PERFORMED ADJUSTED FOR AGE, SEX, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, INTRACRANIAL VOLUME, CARDIOVASCULAR RISK, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND STRESS. 15.7% OF INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATED IN AT LEAST ONE FORM OF PRACTICE. THOSE WHO PERFORMED MEDITATION AND YOGA PRACTICES REPORTED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE STRESS (MEAN DIFFERENCE 0.2 ON A 1-5 SCALE, P < .001) AND MORE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS (MEAN DIFFERENCE 1.03 ON CESD, P = .015). PARTAKING IN MEDITATION AND YOGA PRACTICES WAS ASSOCIATED WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RIGHT AMYGDALA VOLUME (BETA = - 31.8 MM(3), P = .005), AND LOWER LEFT HIPPOCAMPUS VOLUME (BETA = - 75.3 MM(3), P = .025). REPEATED MEASUREMENTS USING LINEAR MIXED MODELS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OVER TIME ON THE RIGHT AMYGDALA OF PRACTICING MEDITATION AND YOGA (BETA = - 24.4 MM(3), SE 11.3, P = .031). PARTAKING IN MEDITATION AND YOGA PRACTICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH MORE EXPERIENCED STRESS WHILE IT ALSO HELPS COPE WITH STRESS, AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH SMALLER RIGHT AMYGDALA VOLUME. 2018 3 2333 23 TWELVE-MINUTE DAILY YOGA REGIMEN REVERSES OSTEOPOROTIC BONE LOSS. OBJECTIVE: ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SELECTED YOGA POSTURES IN RAISING BONE MINERAL DENSITY (BMD). METHODS: TEN-YEAR STUDY OF 741 INTERNET-RECRUITED VOLUNTEERS COMPARING PREYOGA BMD CHANGES WITH POSTYOGA BMD CHANGES. OUTCOME MEASURES: DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRIC SCANS. OPTIONAL RADIOGRAPHS OF HIPS AND SPINE AND BONE QUALITY STUDY (7 TESLA). RESULTS: BONE MINERAL DENSITY IMPROVED IN SPINE, HIPS, AND FEMUR OF THE 227 MODERATELY AND FULLY COMPLIANT PATIENTS. MONTHLY GAIN IN BMD WAS SIGNIFICANT IN SPINE (0.0029 G/CM(2), P = .005) AND FEMUR (0.00022 G/CM(2), P = .053), BUT IN 1 COHORT, ALTHOUGH MEAN GAIN IN HIP BMD WAS 50%, LARGE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES RAISED THE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL AND THE GAIN WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR TOTAL HIP (0.000357 G/CM(2)). NO YOGA-RELATED SERIOUS INJURIES WERE IMAGED OR REPORTED. BONE QUALITY APPEARED QUALITATIVELY IMPROVED IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. CONCLUSION: YOGA APPEARS TO RAISE BMD IN THE SPINE AND THE FEMUR SAFELY. 2016 4 441 39 CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW EFFECTS OF YOGA TRAINING: PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF 4 CASES. OBJECTIVES: EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OF YOGA HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO ALTER BRAIN FUNCTION, BUT THIS CASE SERIES MEASURED CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW BEFORE AND AFTER A 12-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM IN IYENGAR YOGA (IY) FOR NAIVE SUBJECTS. METHODS: ON THE FIRST DAY, EACH OF THE 4 SUBJECTS LISTENED TO THE TEACHER SPEAKING ON THE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF THE YOGA PROGRAM WHILE THEY WERE INJECTED WITH 250 MBQ OF (99M)TC-BICISATE AND RECEIVED A SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCAN (PRE-PROGRAM BASELINE). SUBJECTS THEN HAD THEIR FIRST IY TRAINING AND WERE INJECTED AND SCANNED WITH 925 MBQ BICISATE WHILE THEY DID THEIR FIRST MEDITATION (PRE-PROGRAM MEDITATION). SUBJECTS THEN UNDERWENT A 12-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM IN IY AND THEN UNDERWENT THE SAME IMAGING PROTOCOL WITH A POSTPROGRAM BASELINE AND POSTPROGRAM MEDITATION SCAN. BASELINE AND MEDITATION SCANS, BEFORE AND AFTER TRAINING, WERE COMPARED USING PAIRED T TESTS. RESULTS: THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT DECREASES (P < 0.05) BETWEEN THE PRE- AND POSTPROGRAM BASELINE SCANS IN THE RIGHT AMYGDALA, DORSAL MEDIAL CORTEX, AND SENSORIMOTOR AREA. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE (P < 0.05) IN THE PRE- AND POSTPROGRAM PERCENTAGE CHANGE (I.E., ACTIVATION) IN THE RIGHT DORSAL MEDIAL FRONTAL LOBE, PREFRONTAL CORTEX, AND RIGHT SENSORIMOTOR CORTEX. CONCLUSIONS: THESE INITIAL FINDINGS SUGGEST THE BRAIN EXPERIENCES A "TRAINING EFFECT" AFTER 12 WEEKS OF IY TRAINING. 2009 5 447 20 CHANGED PATTERN OF REGIONAL GLUCOSE METABOLISM DURING YOGA MEDITATIVE RELAXATION. USING POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET), MEASUREMENTS OF THE REGIONAL CEREBRAL METABOLIC RATE OF GLUCOSE (RCMRGLC) ARE ABLE TO DELINEATE CEREBRAL METABOLIC RESPONSES TO EXTERNAL OR MENTAL STIMULATION. IN ORDER TO EXAMINE POSSIBLE CHANGES OF BRAIN METABOLISM DUE TO YOGA MEDITATION PET SCANS WERE PERFORMED IN 8 MEMBERS OF A YOGA MEDITATION GROUP DURING THE NORMAL CONTROL STATE (C) AND YOGA MEDITATIVE RELAXATION (YMR). WHEREAS THERE WERE INTRAINDIVIDUAL CHANGES OF THE TOTAL CMRGLC, THE ALTERATIONS WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR INTERGROUP COMPARISON; SPECIFIC FOCAL CHANGES OR CHANGES IN THE INTERHEMISPHERIC DIFFERENCES IN METABOLISM WERE ALSO NOT SEEN; HOWEVER THE RATIOS OF FRONTAL VS. OCCIPITAL RCMRGLC WERE SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED (P LESS THAN 0.05) DURING YMR. THESE ALTERED RATIOS WERE CAUSED BY A SLIGHT INCREASE OF FRONTAL RCMRGLC AND A MORE PRONOUNCED REDUCTION IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY VISUAL CENTERS. THESE DATA INDICATE A HOLISTIC BEHAVIOR OF THE BRAIN METABOLISM DURING THE TIME OF ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS DURING YMR. 1990 6 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 7 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 8 1667 53 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 9 1670 33 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 10 1545 35 LARGER WHOLE BRAIN GREY MATTER ASSOCIATED WITH LONG-TERM SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION: A DETAILED AREA BY AREA COMPARISON. OBJECTIVES: OUR PREVIOUS STUDY SHOWED THAT LONG-TERM PRACTITIONERS OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION (SYM) HAD AROUND 7% LARGER GREY MATTER VOLUME (GMV) IN THE WHOLE BRAIN COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS; HOWEVER, WHEN TESTING INDIVIDUAL REGIONS, ONLY 5 SMALL BRAIN AREAS WERE STATISTICALLY DIFFERENT BETWEEN GROUPS. UNDER THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THOSE RESULTS WERE STATISTICALLY CONSERVATIVE, WITH THE SAME DATASET, WE INVESTIGATED IN MORE DETAIL THE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN GMV ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRACTICE OF SYM, WITH A DIFFERENT STATISTICAL APPROACH. DESIGN: TWENTY-THREE EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OF SYM AND 23 HEALTHY NON-MEDITATORS MATCHED ON AGE, SEX AND EDUCATION LEVEL, WERE SCANNED USING STRUCTURAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI). THEIR GMV WERE EXTRACTED AND COMPARED USING VOXEL-BASED MORPHOMETRY (VBM). USING A NOVEL AD-HOC GENERAL LINEAR MODEL, STATISTICAL COMPARISONS WERE MADE TO OBSERVE IF THE GMV DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEDITATORS AND CONTROLS WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. RESULTS: IN THE 16 LOBE AREA SUBDIVISIONS, GMV WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT IN 4 OUT OF 16 AREAS: IN RIGHT HEMISPHERIC TEMPORAL AND FRONTAL LOBES, LEFT FRONTAL LOBE AND BRAINSTEM. IN THE 116 AAL AREA SUBDIVISIONS, GMV DIFFERENCE WAS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IN 11 AREAS. THE GMV DIFFERENCES WERE STATISTICALLY MORE SIGNIFICANT IN RIGHT HEMISPHERIC BRAIN AREAS. CONCLUSIONS: THE STUDY SHOWS THAT LONG-TERM PRACTICE OF SYM IS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER GMV OVERALL, AND WITH SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES MAINLY IN TEMPORAL AND FRONTAL AREAS OF THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE AND THE BRAINSTEM. THESE NEUROPLASTIC CHANGES MAY REFLECT EMOTIONAL AND ATTENTIONAL CONTROL MECHANISMS DEVELOPED WITH SYM. ON THE OTHER HAND, OUR STATISTICAL AD-HOC METHOD SHOWS THAT THERE WERE MORE BRAIN AREAS WITH STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE COMPARED TO THE TRADITIONAL METHODOLOGY WHICH WE THINK IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CONSERVATIVE TYPE II ERRORS. 2020 11 1555 25 LONG-TERM ASHTANGA YOGA PRACTICE DECREASES MEDIAL TEMPORAL AND BRAINSTEM GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN RELATION TO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. BACKGROUND: YOGA IS INCREASINGLY POPULAR WORLDWIDE WITH SEVERAL PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BENEFITS, BUT THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY REMAINS UNCLEAR. WHEREAS MANY STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON PURE MEDITATIONAL ASPECTS, THE TRIAD OF YOGA INCLUDES MEDITATION, POSTURES, AND BREATHING. WE CONDUCTED A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY COMPARING EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO YOGA-NAIVE HEALTHY SUBJECTS USING A MULTIPARAMETRIC 2 X 2 DESIGN WITH SIMULTANEOUS POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY/MAGNETIC RESONANCE (PET/MR) IMAGING. METHODS: (18)F-FDG PET, MORPHOMETRIC AND DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING, RESTING STATE FMRI, AND MR SPECTROSCOPY WERE ACQUIRED IN 10 EXPERIENCED (4.8 +/- 2.3 YEARS OF REGULAR YOGA EXPERIENCE) YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND 15 MATCHED CONTROLS IN REST AND AFTER A SINGLE PRACTICE (YOGA PRACTICE AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE, RESPECTIVELY). RESULTS: IN REST, DECREASED REGIONAL GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN THE MEDIAL TEMPORAL CORTEX, STRIATUM, AND BRAINSTEM WAS OBSERVED IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS COMPARED TO CONTROLS (P < 0.0001), WITH A SIGNIFICANT INVERSE CORRELATION OF RESTING PARAHIPPOCAMPAL AND BRAINSTEM METABOLISM WITH YEARS OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE (RHO < - 0.63, P < 0.05). A SINGLE YOGA PRACTICE RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT HYPERMETABOLISM IN THE CEREBELLUM (P < 0.0001). NONE OF THE MR MEASURES DIFFERED, BOTH AT REST AND AFTER INTERVENTION. CONCLUSIONS: EXPERIENCED YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOW REGIONAL LONG-TERM DECREASES IN GLUCOSE METABOLISM RELATED TO YEARS OF PRACTICE. TO ELUCIDATE A POTENTIAL CAUSALITY, A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS IS WARRANTED. 2020 12 2334 38 TWELVE-WEEK YOGA VS. AEROBIC CYCLING INITIATION IN SEDENTARY HEALTHY SUBJECTS: A BEHAVIORAL AND MULTIPARAMETRIC INTERVENTIONAL PET/MR STUDY. INTERVENTIONAL YOGA STUDIES WITH AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP REMAIN SCARCE AND ARE IMPORTANT TO CLARIFY THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY. WE CONDUCTED AN INTERVENTIONAL STUDY IN HEALTHY CONTROLS USING SIMULTANEOUS POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY/MAGNETIC RESONANCE (PET/MR) IMAGING AND PSYCHOMETRIC SCALES. THIRTY HEALTHY, FEMALE VOLUNTEERS (28.4 +/- 8.4 YEARS) PARTICIPATED AND WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO A 12-WEEK YOGA OR INDOOR CYCLING INTERVENTION. BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION, [(18)F]FDG AND [(11)C]UCB-J PET WAS PERFORMED ON A SIMULTANEOUS GE SIGNA PET/MR WITH VOLUMETRIC IMAGING. PSYCHOMETRIC SCALES WERE EVALUATED ON AFFECT, MINDFULNESS, STRESS, WORRYING, SELF-COMPASSION, AND INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS. YOGA SUBJECTS SCORED HIGHER ON INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS COMPARED TO BASELINE (P < 0.001). COGNITIVE (P = 0.009) AND OVERALL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING (P = 0.01) IMPROVED AFTER THE YOGA INTERVENTION COMPARED TO THE CYCLING GROUP. WE DID NOT OBSERVE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN GLUCOSE METABOLISM, SYNAPTIC DENSITY, OR GRAY MATTER (GM) VOLUME. THE INDOOR CYCLING GROUP DID NOT SHOW CHANGES IN PSYCHOMETRIC VARIABLES, BUT SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN RELATIVE GLUCOSE METABOLISM WERE OBSERVED IN THE PARAHIPPOCAMPAL/FUSIFORM GYRUS AND CEREBELLUM (P < 0.001). IN CONCLUSION, 12 WEEKS OF YOGA PRACTICE HAS SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS AND PERCEIVED COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN STARTERS. LONGER INTERVENTIONS AND/OR HIGHER FREQUENCY OF YOGA PRACTICE MAY BE NEEDED TO DETECT CEREBRAL METABOLIC AND/OR MORPHOLOGIC EFFECTS ON THE MACROSCOPIC LEVEL. 2021 13 1032 31 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 14 1766 21 POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS IN YOGA SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT POSTURES: COMPARISON BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS AND NONPRACTITIONERS. THIS PAPER INVESTIGATES WHETHER A GROUP OF REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWS POSTURAL CONTROL DIFFERENCES COMPARED WITH HEALTHY CONTROLS WHILE PERFORMING SINGLE-LEG YOGA POSTURES. TEN YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE COMPARED WITH A CONTROL GROUP OF 10 NONPRACTITIONERS PERFORMING TWO SINGLE-LEG SUPPORT YOGA POSTURES: VRKSASANA (TREE POSTURE) AND NATARAJASANA (DANCER POSTURE). RAMBLING AND TREMBLING DECOMPOSITION OF THE CENTER OF PRESSURE TRAJECTORIES WAS IMPLEMENTED USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM SPECTRAL OPTIMIZATION THAT AVOIDS USING HORIZONTAL FORCES AND WAS VALIDATED WITH BIPEDAL POSTURE DATA. ADDITIONALLY, THE CENTER OF MASS WAS ESTIMATED FROM BODY KINEMATICS USING OPENSIM AND COMPARED WITH THE RAMBLING OUTPUTS. DURING NATARAJASANA, NO POSTURAL CONTROL ADAPTATIONS WERE OBSERVED. FOR VRKSASANA, THE YOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED A LOWER CENTER OF PRESSURE ELLIPSE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL AREA, CENTER OF PRESSURE ANTEROPOSTERIOR SD, AND SMALLER RAMBLING SD IN THE MEDIOLATERAL DIRECTION, SUGGESTING POSSIBLE SUPRASPINAL FEED-FORWARD MOTOR ADAPTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH YOGA TRAINING. 2022 15 1634 30 MODELING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON THE PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN A DISH. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) ACCOUNTS FOR 80% OF ALL DEMENTIA CASES, MAKING IT THE MOST COMMON FORM OF DEMENTIA. AGING SERVES AS THE MAIN RISK FACTOR FOR AD, BUT EARLY ONSET AD CAN ALSO OCCUR IN INDIVIDUALS YOUNGER THAN 65 YEARS. AD RESULTS FROM PROGRESSIVE NEURODEGENERATION LEADING TO DYSFUNCTIONAL SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION IN THE BRAIN. THE CASCADE HYPOTHESIS OF AD STATES THAT AMYLOID PRECURSOR PROTEIN (APP) METABOLISM BECOMES IMPAIRED EITHER BY MUTATION OR AN INTERLEUKIN-MEDIATED STRESS RESPONSE TO INJURY, RESULTING IN THE SPLICING OF HARMFUL OLIGOMERIC FORMS OF AMYLOID BETA (ABETA). THESE OLIGOMERS DISRUPT EXTRACELLULAR RECEPTOR BINDING, INTRACELLULAR FUNCTION, AND CELLULAR MEMBRANE INTEGRITY. YOGA AND MEDITATIVE PRACTICES SLOW THE PROGRESSION OF THE COGNITIVE DECLINE ASSOCIATED WITH AD. HOWEVER, THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THIS THERAPEUTIC EFFECT REMAIN ELUSIVE. HERE, WE INVESTIGATED THE ABILITY OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS RELEASED DURING YOGA AND MEDITATIVE PRACTICES TO RESCUE NEURONS FROM SYNAPTIC DYSFUNCTION IN AN IN VITRO ALZHEIMER'S MODEL CREATED BY CULTURING BASAL FOREBRAIN CHOLINERGIC NEURONS WITH PHYSIOLOGICALLY RELEVANT LEVELS OF THE I-42 ISOFORM OF OLIGOMERIC ABETA (OALPHABETAI-42). WE FOUND THAT THE NEUROTRANSMITTERS DOPAMINE AND HISTAMINE PRODUCE A COOPERATIVE ACTION WITH SEROTONIN TO REVERSE THE LOSS OF CHOLINE ACETYLTRANSFERASE (CHAT) BY OALPHABETAI-42. THE LOSS OF CHAT, THE ENZYME RESPONSIBLE FOR PROCESSING THE CHOLINERGIC NEUROTRANSMITTER ACETYLCHOLINE, CONTRIBUTES TO THE SYNAPTIC DYSFUNCTION EXPERIENCED DURING AD. THESE NEUROTRANSMITTERS INHIBIT NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHESIS CAUSED BY OALPHABETAI-42, PREVENTING OXIDATIVE AND NITROSATIVE STRESS. SEROTONIN ACTIVATES AN ALTERNATE CLEAVAGE OF APP TO PRODUCE A FRAGMENT WITH KNOWN NEUROTROPHIC EFFECTS, GIVING IT THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO INHIBIT THE OALPHABETAI-42 PRODUCTION CYCLE. WE HYPOTHESIZE HERE THAT THESE CONCERTED ACTIONS LEAD TO THE PROTECTION OF CHOLINERGIC SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION IN AD. 2018 16 2371 29 WHAT HAS NEUROIMAGING TAUGHT US ON THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF YOGA? A REVIEW. YOGA IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR WORLDWIDE, WITH SEVERAL IMPLICATED PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BENEFITS. HERE WE PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE AND CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH GENERATED FROM THE EXISTING NEUROIMAGING LITERATURE IN STUDIES OF YOGA PRACTITIONERS. WE REVIEWED 34 INTERNATIONAL PEER-REVIEWED NEUROIMAGING STUDIES OF YOGA USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI), POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PET), OR SINGLE-PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT): 11 MORPHOLOGICAL AND 26 FUNCTIONAL STUDIES, INCLUDING THREE STUDIES THAT WERE CLASSIFIED AS BOTH MORPHOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL. CONSISTENT FINDINGS INCLUDE INCREASED GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN THE INSULA AND HIPPOCAMPUS, INCREASED ACTIVATION OF PREFRONTAL CORTICAL REGIONS, AND FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY CHANGES MAINLY WITHIN THE DEFAULT MODE NETWORK. THERE IS QUITE SOME VARIABILITY IN THE NEUROIMAGING FINDINGS THAT PARTIALLY REFLECTS DIFFERENT YOGA STYLES AND APPROACHES, AS WELL AS SAMPLE SIZE LIMITATIONS. DIRECT COMPARATOR GROUPS SUCH AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE SCARCELY USED SO FAR. FINALLY, HYPOTHESES ON THE UNDERLYING NEUROBIOLOGY DERIVED FROM THE IMAGING FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN THE LIGHT OF THE POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF YOGA. 2020 17 1286 33 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 18 2027 36 TAI CHI AND YOGA FOR IMPROVING BALANCE ON ONE LEG: A NEUROIMAGING AND BIOMECHANICS STUDY. THE ONE-LEG STANCE IS FREQUENTLY USED IN BALANCE TRAINING AND REHABILITATION PROGRAMS FOR VARIOUS BALANCE DISORDERS. THERE ARE SOME TYPICAL ONE-LEG STANCE POSTURES IN TAI CHI (TC) AND YOGA, WHICH ARE NORMALLY USED FOR IMPROVING BALANCE. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISM IS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. BESIDES, THE DIFFERENCES OF ONE-LEG STANCE POSTURES BETWEEN TC AND YOGA IN TRAINING BALANCE ARE STILL UNKNOWN. THEREFORE, THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE CORTICAL ACTIVATION AND RAMBLING AND TREMBLING TRAJECTORIES TO ELUCIDATE THE POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF IMPROVING ONE-LEG STANCE BALANCE, AND COMPARE THE POSTURAL DEMANDS DURING ONE-LEG STANCE POSTURES BETWEEN TC AND YOGA. THIRTY-TWO HEALTHY YOUNG INDIVIDUALS WERE RECRUITED TO PERFORM TWO TC ONE-LEG STANCE POSTURES, I.E., RIGHT HEEL KICK (RHK) AND LEFT LOWER BODY AND STAND ON ONE LEG (LSOL), TWO YOGA POSTURES, I.E., ONE-LEG BALANCE AND TREE, AND NORMAL ONE-LEG STANDING (OLS). BRAIN ACTIVATION IN THE PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX, SUPPLEMENTARY MOTOR AREA (SMA), AND DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (DLPFC) WAS MEASURED USING FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY. THE CENTER OF PRESSURE WAS SIMULTANEOUSLY RECORDED USING A FORCE PLATFORM AND DECOMPOSED INTO RAMBLING AND TREMBLING COMPONENTS. ONE-WAY REPEATED-MEASURES ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS USED FOR THE MAIN EFFECTS. THE RELATIVE CONCENTRATION CHANGES OF OXYGENATED HEMOGLOBIN (DELTAHBO) IN SMA WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DURING RHK, LSOL, AND TREE THAN THAT DURING OLS (P < 0.001). RHK (P < 0.001), LSOL (P = 0.003), AND TREE (P = 0.006) ALL SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER ROOT MEAN SQUARE RAMBLING (RMRMS) THAN THAT DURING OLS IN THE MEDIAL-LATERAL DIRECTION. THE RIGHT DLPFC ACTIVATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DURING THE RHK THAN THAT DURING THE TREE (P = 0.023), OLB (P < 0.001), AND OLS (P = 0.013) POSTURES. IN CONCLUSION, THE RHK, LSOL, AND TREE COULD BE USED AS TRAINING MOVEMENTS FOR PEOPLE WITH IMPAIRED BALANCE. FURTHERMORE, THE RHK IN TC MAY PROVIDE MORE COGNITIVE TRAINING IN POSTURAL CONTROL THAN TREE AND OLB IN YOGA. KNOWLEDGE FROM THIS STUDY COULD BE USED AND IMPLEMENTED IN TRAINING ONE-LEG STANCE BALANCE. 2021 19 1287 33 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 20 1496 35 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