1 2511 138 YOGA BREATHING THROUGH A PARTICULAR NOSTRIL IS ASSOCIATED WITH CONTRALATERAL EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL CHANGES. BACKGROUND: IN EARLIER STUDIES UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING WAS SHOWN TO INFLUENCE THE ACTIVITY OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES DIFFERENTLY, BASED ON (I) AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS RECORDED FROM BILATERAL SCALP SITES, AND (II) PERFORMANCE IN HEMISPHERE-SPECIFIC TASKS. BUT CHANGE IN P300 (EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL GENERATED WHEN SUBJECTS ATTEND TO AND DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN STIMULI) FROM BILATERAL SCALP SITES WHEN SUBJECTS WERE PRACTICING UNI- AND ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL BREATHING ARE YET TO BE EXPLORED. AIM: THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER UNINOSTRIL OR ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING THERE WOULD BE A CHANGE IN THE ABILITY TO PAY ATTENTION TO A GIVEN STIMULUS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TWENTY-NINE HEALTHY MALE VOLUNTEERS, WITH AGES BETWEEN 20 AND 45 YEARS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO FIVE SESSIONS, VIZ., (I) RIGHT-, (II) LEFT-, (III) ALTERNATE-NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, (IV) BREATH AWARENESS AND (V) NO INTERVENTION, EACH FOR 45 MIN ON SEPARATE DAYS. THE P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL PARADIGM FROM SITES ON THE LEFT (C3) AND RIGHT (C4), REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES, BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SESSION. RESULTS: POST-HOC ANALYSIS WITH BONFERRONI ADJUSTMENT SHOWED THAT THE P300 PEAK LATENCY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER AT C3 COMPARED TO THAT AT C4, FOLLOWING RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING FACILITATES THE ACTIVITY OF CONTRALATERAL (LEFT) HEMISPHERE, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE P300 TASK. 2012 2 457 45 CHANGES IN P300 FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECT OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (NADISUDDHI PRANAYAMA) ON P300 AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS COMPARED TO A SESSION OF BREATH AWARENESS OF EQUAL DURATION, IN 20 MALE ADULT VOLUNTEERS WHO HAD AN EXPERIENCE OF YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES FOR MORE THAN THREE MONTHS. PEAK AMPLITUDES AND PEAK LATENCIES OF THE P300 WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE RESPECTIVE SESSIONS. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ AND A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE PEAK LATENCY AT FZ ALONE FOLLOWING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. FOLLOWING BREATH AWARENESS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK AMPLITUDE OF P300 AT CZ. THIS SUGGESTS THAT ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING POSITIVELY INFLUENCES COGNITIVE PROCESSES WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR SUSTAINED ATTENTION AT DIFFERENT SCALP SITES (FRONTAL, VERTEX AND PARIETAL), WHEREAS BREATH AWARENESS BRINGS ABOUT CHANGES AT THE VERTEX ALONE. 2013 3 98 51 A NONRANDOMIZED NON-NAIVE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF KAPALABHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS ON EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS IN TRAINED YOGA PRACTITIONERS. OBJECTIVES: THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO COMPARE THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER (1) HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (HFYB) AND (2) BREATH AWARENESS. DESIGN: THE P300 WAS RECORDED IN PARTICIPANTS OF TWO GROUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION SESSION (1 MINUTE IN DURATION). SETTINGS AND LOCATION: ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE RECEIVING YOGA TRAINING IN A RESIDENTIAL YOGA CENTER, SWAMI VIVEKANADA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION IN BANGALORE, INDIA. SUBJECTS: THIRTY (30) MALE PARTICIPANTS FORMED TWO GROUPS (N = 15 EACH) WITH COMPARABLE AGES (WITHIN AN AGE RANGE OF 20-35 YEARS) AND COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE OF THE TWO TECHNIQUES, THE MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BEING 3 MONTHS. INTERVENTIONS: THE TWO GROUPS WERE EACH GIVEN A SEPARATE INTERVENTION. ONE GROUP PRACTICED A HFYB AT A FREQUENCY OF APPROXIMATELY 2.0 HZ, CALLED KAPALABHATI. THE OTHER GROUP PRACTICED BREATH AWARENESS DURING WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE AWARE OF THEIR BREATH WHILE SEATED, RELAXED. OUTCOME MEASURES: THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL, WHICH IS GENERATED WHEN ATTENDING TO AND DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN AUDITORY STIMULI, WAS RECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER BOTH TECHNIQUES. RESULTS: THE P300 PEAK LATENCY DECREASED AFTER HFYB AND THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE INCREASED AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. CONCLUSIONS: BOTH PRACTICES (HFYB AND BREATH AWARENESS), THOUGH VERY DIFFERENT, INFLUENCED THE P300. HFYB REDUCED THE PEAK LATENCY, SUGGESTING A DECREASE IN TIME NEEDED FOR THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION. BREATH AWARENESS INCREASED THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE, SUGGESTING AN INCREASE IN THE NEURAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THE TASK. 2009 4 1695 61 P300 FOLLOWING FOUR VOLUNTARILY REGULATED YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES AND BREATH AWARENESS. ATTENTION WAS INFLUENCED BY YOGA BREATHING IN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED RESEARCH. EACH YOGA BREATHING PRACTICE UNIQUELY MODIFIES SPECIFIC BREATH CHARACTERISTICS. DIFFERENCES IN THE STUDY DESIGNS, ASSESSMENT METHODS AND INTERVENTIONS RESULTED IN DIFFICULTY IN COMPARING EFFECTS BETWEEN YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. THIS STUDY AIMED (I) TO COMPARE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES ON ATTENTION USING AN AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK AND (II) TO DETERMINE CARDIAC AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTION USING HEART RATE VARIABILITY. P300 EVENT RELATED POTENTIAL WAS RECORDED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH HEART RATE VARIABILITY BEFORE AND AFTER 18-MINUTE PERIODS EACH OF (I) HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED BREATH FREQUENCY), (II) BELLOWS YOGA BREATHING (WITH INCREASED DEPTH OF RESPIRATION), (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WITH ALTERNATE NOSTRIL PATENCY), (IV) BUMBLEBEE YOGA BREATHING (WITH PROLONGED EXHALE), (V) BREATH AWARENESS (WITH ATTENTION TO THE BREATH) AND (VI) QUIET SEATED REST AS CONTROL IN 38 YOGA EXPERIENCED MALES (AVERAGE AGE +/- SD; 24.08 +/- 4.01 YEARS). THE SIX SESSIONS WERE ON SEPARATE, RANDOMLY ALLOCATED DAYS. THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDE RECORDED AT PZ WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AFTER FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (BONFERRONI ADJUSTED POST-HOC TESTS, REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE NOTED IN HEART RATE VARIABILITY FOLLOWING YOGA BREATHING OR CONTROL SESSIONS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES INCREASE THE ATTENTIONAL NEURAL RESOURCES ENGAGED FOR THIS AUDITORY ODDBALL TASK, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CHARACTERISTIC OF BREATH UNIQUELY REGULATED IN THE FOUR YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES. 2022 5 458 45 CHANGES IN P300 FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) IS A TECHNIQUE THAT COMBINES "STIMULATING" AND "CALMING" PRACTICES, BASED ON A STATEMENT IN ANCIENT YOGA TEXTS SUGGESTING THAT SUCH A COMBINATION MAY BE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL TO REACH A STATE OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM. THE CHANGES IN THE PEAK LATENCY AND PEAK AMPLITUDE OF P300 AUDITORY EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS WERE STUDIED BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF CYCLIC MEDITATION COMPARED TO AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST IN 42 VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE +/- SD, 27 +/- 6.3 YEARS), FROM FZ, CZ, AND PZ ELECTRODE SITES REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES. THE SESSIONS WERE ONE DAY APART AND THE ORDER WAS ALTERNATED. THERE WAS REDUCTION IN THE PEAK LATENCIES OF P300 AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ COMPARED TO THE "PRE" VALUES. A SIMILAR TREND OF REDUCTION IN P300 PEAK LATENCIES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ WAS ALSO OBSERVED AFTER SUPINE REST, COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE "PRE" VALUES, ALTHOUGH THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE IN EACH CASE WAS LESS AFTER SUPINE REST COMPARED TO AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION. THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AFTER CM WERE HIGHER AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ SITES COMPARED TO THE "PRE" VALUES. IN CONTRAST, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED IN THE P300 PEAK AMPLITUDES AT FZ, CZ, AND PZ AFTER SUPINE REST COMPARED TO THE RESPECTIVE "PRE" STATE. THE PRESENT RESULTS SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT "CYCLIC" MEDITATION ENHANCES COGNITIVE PROCESSES UNDERLYING THE GENERATION OF THE P300. 2006 6 2760 37 YOGA PRACTITIONERS UNIQUELY ACTIVATE THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS DURING EMOTION REGULATION. CHRONIC STRESS CONTRIBUTES TO BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESS. A HIGH PREVALENCE AND COST OF STRESS-RELATED ILLNESSES NORTH AMERICA WARRANTS INVESTIGATION INTO ALTERNATIVE OR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES WHICH MAY HELP REDUCE ADVERSE REACTIONS TO STRESSFUL STIMULI. EMOTION REGULATION IS THE PROCESS OF MONITORING AND ADJUSTING EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI AND STRESSORS. INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ADVERSE RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, POTENTIALLY DUE TO ADAPTIONS IN EMOTION REGULATION. YOGA IS A FORM OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING STRETCHING EXERCISES AND MEDITATION, THAT MAY LESSEN INDIVIDUALS' LEVELS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY AND IMPROVE EMOTION REGULATION. HIGH-FREQUENCY HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HF-HRV) IS CONSIDERED A MEASURE OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS) ACTIVITY DURING THE EMOTION REGULATION. MEASURING HRV AND BRAIN ACTIVITY USING FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI) OFFERS A USEFUL, NONINVASIVE APPROACH TO EVALUATING "NEUROVISCERAL" COMPONENTS OF EMOTION REGULATION. WE AIMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YP) EXHIBIT DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF BRAIN ACTIVATION COMPARED TO RECREATIONAL ATHLETES (RA) WITHOUT CURRENT YOGA EXPERIENCE, WHILE VIEWING EMOTIONALLY AROUSING VISUAL STIMULI. OUR SECONDARY AIM WAS TO EXAMINE POTENTIAL DIFFERENCES ACROSS GROUPS IN HRV THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION OF THESE STIMULI. ANALYSIS OF FMRI DATA DURING EXPOSURE TO EMOTION-EVOKING (EE) STIMULI REVEALED THAT THE YP GROUP ACTIVATED TWO UNIQUE BRAIN AREAS, NAMELY THE SUPERIOR PARIETAL LOBULE AND THE SUPRAMARGINAL GYRUS. THESE AREAS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENTIONAL AWARENESS AND REDUCED EGOCENTRIC BIAS, PROCESSES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPLICATED IN EMOTION REGULATION BY OTHERS. THE RA GROUP ACTIVATED THE INFERIOR MIDDLE FRONTAL CORTEX, AN AREA ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE REAPPRAISAL DURING EMOTION REGULATION. THE YP GROUP ALSO DEMONSTRATED A TREND TOWARDS A HIGHER RATIO OF LOW- TO HIGH-FREQUENCY HRV COMPARED TO THE RA GROUP. THE PRESENT FINDINGS SUPPORT THE PRESENCE OF EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT NEUROVISCERAL MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION REGULATION. INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE YOGA REGULATE THEIR NEUROVISCERAL RESPONSES TO POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL EXTERNAL STIMULI IN A DIFFERENT MANNER THAN RECREATIONAL ATHLETES WHO DO NOT ENGAGE IN YOGA PRACTICE. THE PRESENT STUDY HAD A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE (RA: N = 12; YP: N = 19), WHICH SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN INTERPRETING THE RESULTS. 2018 7 994 46 EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING CALLED KAPALABHATI COMPARED WITH BREATH AWARENESS ON THE DEGREE OF OPTICAL ILLUSION PERCEIVED. PRIOR RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT METHODS OF MEDITATION, BREATH CONTROL, AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF YOGA BREATHING AFFECT ATTENTION AND VISUAL PERCEPTION, INCLUDING DECREASING THE SIZE OF CERTAIN OPTICAL ILLUSIONS. EVALUATING RELATIONSHIPS SHEDS LIGHT ON THE PERCEPTUAL AND COGNITIVE CHANGES INDUCED BY YOGA AND RELATED METHODS, AND THE LOCUS OF THE EFFECTS. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE DEGREE OF OPTICAL ILLUSION WAS ASSESSED USING MULLER-LYER STIMULI BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRACTICE, A HIGH FREQUENCY YOGA BREATHING CALLED KAPALABHATI, AND BREATH AWARENESS. A NONYOGA, CONTROL SESSION TESTED FOR PRACTICE EFFECTS. THIRTY PARTICIPANTS (WITH GROUP M AGE = 26.9 YR., SD = 5.7) PRACTICED THE TWO TECHNIQUES FOR 18 MIN. ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS. THE CONTROL GROUP HAD 15 NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER 18 MIN. IN WHICH THEY DID NOT PERFORM ANY SPECIFIC ACTIVITY BUT WERE SEATED AND RELAXED. AFTER BOTH KAPALABHATI AND BREATH AWARENESS THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE DEGREE OF OPTICAL ILLUSION. THE POSSIBILITY THAT THIS WAS DUE TO A PRACTICE OR REPETITION EFFECT WAS RULED OUT WHEN 15 NONYOGA PRACTITIONERS SHOWED NO CHANGE IN THE DEGREE OF ILLUSION WHEN RETESTED AFTER 18 MIN. THE CHANGES WERE INTERPRETED AS DUE TO CHANGES IN PERCEPTION RELATED TO THE WAY THE STIMULI WERE JUDGED. 2011 8 1668 35 NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF THE EFFECTS OF YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE ON EMOTION AND COGNITION: A PILOT STUDY. MINDFULNESS MEDITATION INVOLVES ATTENDING TO EMOTIONS WITHOUT COGNITIVE FIXATION OF EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE. OVER TIME, THIS PRACTICE IS HELD TO PROMOTE ALTERATIONS IN TRAIT AFFECTIVITY AND ATTENTIONAL CONTROL WITH RESULTANT EFFECTS ON WELL-BEING AND COGNITION. HOWEVER, RELATIVELY LITTLE IS KNOWN REGARDING THE NEURAL SUBSTRATES OF MEDITATION EFFECTS ON EMOTION AND COGNITION. THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF EMOTION INTERFERENCE ON COGNITION IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND A MATCHED CONTROL GROUP (CG) UNDERWENT FMRI WHILE PERFORMING AN EVENT-RELATED AFFECTIVE STROOP TASK. THE TASK INCLUDES IMAGE VIEWING TRIALS AND STROOP TRIALS BRACKETED BY NEUTRAL OR NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL DISTRACTORS. DURING IMAGE VIEWING TRIALS, YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBITED LESS REACTIVITY IN RIGHT DORSOLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (DLPFC) TO NEGATIVE AS COMPARED TO NEUTRAL IMAGES; WHEREAS THE CG HAD THE OPPOSITE PATTERN. A MAIN EFFECT OF VALENCE (NEGATIVE > NEUTRAL) WAS OBSERVED IN LIMBIC REGIONS (E.G., AMYGDALA), OF WHICH THE MAGNITUDE WAS INVERSELY RELATED TO DLPFC ACTIVATION. EXPLORATORY ANALYSES REVEALED THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF AMYGDALA ACTIVATION PREDICTED DECREASED SELF-REPORTED POSITIVE AFFECT IN THE CG, BUT NOT AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS. DURING STROOP TRIALS, YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAD GREATER ACTIVATION IN VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX (VLPFC) DURING STROOP TRIALS WHEN NEGATIVE, COMPARED TO NEUTRAL, EMOTIONAL DISTRACTOR WERE PRESENTED; THE CG EXHIBITED THE OPPOSITE PATTERN. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT THOUGH YOGA PRACTITIONERS EXHIBIT LIMBIC REACTIVITY TO NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL STIMULI, SUCH REACTIVITY DOES NOT HAVE DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS ON LATER MOOD STATE. THIS UNCOUPLING OF VIEWING NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL IMAGES AND AFFECT AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS MAY BE OCCASIONED BY THEIR SELECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF FRONTAL EXECUTIVE-DEPENDENT STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMOTIONAL INTERFERENCE DURING COMPETING COGNITIVE DEMANDS AND NOT DURING EMOTIONAL PROCESSING PER SE. 2012 9 2338 35 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 10 1909 51 RIGHT UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING INFLUENCES IPSILATERAL COMPONENTS OF MIDDLE LATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS. A PREVIOUS REPORT DESCRIBED SELECTIVE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF THE CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES WITH UNINOSTRIL BREATHING. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, MIDDLE LATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (MLAEPS) WERE RECORDED FROM SYMMETRICAL SCALP SITES DURING THE PRACTICE OF UNINOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. THERE WERE TWO SESSIONS (40 MIN EACH) OF RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (RNB) AND OF BREATH AWARENESS (BAW), WITH (I) 'BEFORE', (II) TEST (EITHER RNB OR BAW) AND (III) 'AFTER' PERIODS. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE 14 MALE VOLUNTEERS AGED BETWEEN 18 AND 33 YEARS, AND THE SETTING WAS A YOGA CENTRE. MLAEPS WERE RECORDED FROM SYMMETRICAL SCALP SITES (C4 AND C3). DURING RNB, THE PEAK AMPLITUDES OF TWO NEGATIVE COMPONENTS (VIZ. NA WAVE AND NB WAVE) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ON THE RIGHT SIDE. INCREASED PEAK AMPLITUDES OF NA AND NB WAVES SUGGESTED THAT RNB INCREASED THE NUMBER OF NEURONS RECRUITED ON THE RIGHT SIDE, SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE APPLICATION OF RNB IN CERTAIN PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS WITH CEREBRAL HEMISPHERIC IMBALANCE. 2004 11 454 51 CHANGES IN MIDLATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PRACTICING MEDITATION WHILE FOCUSING ON A SOUND OR A SYMBOL INFLUENCED MIDLATENCY AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (MLAEPS). CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) IS A TECHNIQUE COMBINING YOGA POSTURES WITH MEDITATION WHILE SUPINE, WHICH HAS INFLUENCED THE P300 EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL. THE EFFECTS OF CM ON MLAEPS HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY STUDIED. THE MLAEPS WERE STUDIED BEFORE AND AFTER THE PRACTICE OF CM COMPARED TO AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) IN 47 MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP MEAN AGE 26.5 +/- 4.4 YEARS), RECORDED FROM THE VERTEX REFERENCED TO LINKED EARLOBES. THE SESSIONS WERE ONE DAY APART AND SUBJECTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EACH SESSION. THE PA WAVE PEAK LATENCY AND NB WAVE PEAK LATENCY SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED FOLLOWING CM COMPARED TO BEFORE CM (REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, POST-HOC ANALYSIS WITH LEAST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE, P<0.05). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK AMPLITUDE OF THE NB WAVE (P<0.05) COMPARED TO BEFORE CM. POST SR THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PEAK LATENCY OF THE NA WAVE (P<0.05) COMPARED TO BEFORE SR. IN CONCLUSION FOLLOWING CM THE LATENCIES OF NEURAL GENERATORS CORRESPONDING TO CORTICAL AREAS IS PROLONGED, WHEREAS FOLLOWING SR A SIMILAR CHANGE OCCURS AT MESENCEPHALIC-DIENCEPHALIC LEVELS. 2009 12 1875 34 REACTION TIME FOLLOWING YOGA BELLOWS-TYPE BREATHING AND BREATH AWARENESS. THE REACTION TIME (RT) WAS ASSESSED IN TWO GROUPS OF HEALTHY MALES, YOGA GROUP (M AGE = 29.0 YR.) AND NON-YOGA OR CONTROL GROUP (M AGE = 29.0 YR.), WITH 35 PARTICIPANTS EACH. THE YOGA GROUP HAD AN AVERAGE EXPERIENCE OF 6 MONTHS, WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP WAS YOGA-NAIVE. THE YOGA GROUP WAS ASSESSED IN TWO SESSIONS, (I) BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA OR BELLOWS BREATHING AND (II) BREATH AWARENESS, WHILE THE CONTROL GROUP HAD A SINGLE CONTROL SESSION. THE TWO EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS, ONE WITH EACH TYPE OF BREATHING, AND THE CONTROL SESSION CONSISTED OF PRE- (5 MIN.), DURING (18 MIN.), AND POST-SESSION EPOCHS (5 MIN.). ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE IN THE PRE- AND POST-SESSION EPOCHS USING A MULTI-OPERATIONAL APPARATUS FOR REACTION TIME. FOLLOWING 18 MIN. OF BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA THERE WAS A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF ANTICIPATORY RESPONSES COMPARED TO BEFORE THE PRACTICE. THIS SUGGESTS THAT THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA IS TO INHIBIT UNNECESSARY RESPONDING TO STIMULI. 2013 13 1354 39 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THREE YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE EFFECTS OF THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES WERE EVALUATED ON PERFORMANCE ON A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK WHICH IS A LEFT-HEMISPHERE DOMINANT TASK. THE THREE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES (RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING) WERE SELECTED BECAUSE UNILATERAL FORCED NOSTRIL BREATHING STIMULATES THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE. THERE WERE 20 MALE VOLUNTEERS WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 20 TO 45 YEARS (M AGE=28.4 YR., SD=5.7). ALL SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER FOUR SESSIONS, I.E., RIGHT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, LEFT NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING, AND BREATH AWARENESS AS A CONTROL. THE LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, I.E., THERE WERE FEWER ERRORS FOLLOWING RIGHT AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (WILCOXON PAIRED SIGNED-RANKS TEST). THE IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MAY BE RELATED TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE FUNCTION FOUND WITH SELECTIVE NOSTRIL BREATHING. 2007 14 1756 37 PLASTICITY OF VISUAL ATTENTION IN ISHA YOGA MEDITATION PRACTITIONERS BEFORE AND AFTER A 3-MONTH RETREAT. MEDITATION HAS LATELY RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST FROM COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE. STUDIES SUGGEST THAT DAILY MEDITATION LEADS TO LONG LASTING ATTENTIONAL AND NEURONAL PLASTICITY. WE PRESENT CHANGES RELATED TO THE ATTENTIONAL SYSTEMS BEFORE AND AFTER A 3 MONTH INTENSIVE MEDITATION RETREAT. WE USED THREE BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOPHYSICAL TESTS - A STROOP TASK, AN ATTENTIONAL BLINK TASK, AND A GLOBAL-LOCAL LETTER TASK-TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ISHA YOGA MEDITATION ON ATTENTIONAL RESOURCE ALLOCATION. 82 ISHA YOGA PRACTITIONERS WERE TESTED AT THE BEGINNING AND AT THE END OF THE RETREAT. OUR RESULTS SHOWED AN INCREASE IN CORRECT RESPONSES SPECIFIC TO INCONGRUENT STIMULI IN THE STROOP TASK. CONGRUENTLY, A POSITIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN PREVIOUS MEDITATION EXPERIENCE AND ACCURACY TO INCONGRUENT STROOP STIMULI WAS ALSO OBSERVED AT BASELINE. WE ALSO OBSERVED A REDUCTION OF THE ATTENTIONAL BLINK. UNEXPECTEDLY, A NEGATIVE CORRELATION BETWEEN PREVIOUS MEDITATION EXPERIENCE AND ATTENTIONAL BLINK PERFORMANCE AT BASELINE WAS OBSERVED. REGARDING SPATIAL ATTENTION ORIENTATION AS ASSESSED USING THE GLOBAL-LOCAL LETTER TASK, PARTICIPANTS SHOWED A BIAS TOWARD LOCAL PROCESSING. ONLY SLIGHT DIFFERENCES IN PERFORMANCE WERE FOUND PRE- VS. POST- MEDITATION RETREAT. BIASING TOWARD THE LOCAL STIMULI IN THE GLOBAL-LOCAL TASK AND NEGATIVE CORRELATION OF PREVIOUS MEDITATION EXPERIENCE WITH ATTENTIONAL BLINK PERFORMANCE IS CONSISTENT WITH ISHA PRACTICES BEING FOCUSED-ATTENTION PRACTICES. GIVEN THE RELATIVELY SMALL EFFECT SIZES AND THE ABSENCE OF A CONTROL GROUP, OUR RESULTS DO NOT ALLOW CLEAR SUPPORT NOR REJECTION OF THE HYPOTHESIS OF MEDITATION-DRIVEN NEURONAL PLASTICITY IN THE ATTENTIONAL SYSTEM FOR ISHA YOGA PRACTICE. 2013 15 1321 52 HEMISPHERE SPECIFIC EEG RELATED TO ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING. BACKGROUND: PREVIOUSLY, FORCED UNILATERAL NOSTRIL BREATHING WAS ASSOCIATED WITH IPSILATERAL, OR CONTRALATERAL CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE CHANGES, OR NO CHANGE. HENCE IT WAS INCONCLUSIVE. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON 13 NORMAL HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING ON (A) CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE ASYMMETRY, AND (B) CHANGES IN THE STANDARD EEG BANDS. METHODS: PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO THREE SESSIONS (A) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB), (B) BREATH AWARENESS AND (C) QUIET SITTING, ON SEPARATE DAYS. EEG WAS RECORDED FROM BILATERALLY SYMMETRICAL SITES (FP1, FP2, C3, C4, O1 AND O2). ALL SITES WERE REFERENCED TO THE IPSILATERAL EAR LOBE. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN CEREBRAL HEMISPHERE SYMMETRY. THE RELATIVE POWER IN THE THETA BAND WAS DECREASED DURING ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (ANYB) AND THE BETA AMPLITUDE WAS LOWER AFTER ANYB. DURING QUIET SITTING THE RELATIVE POWER IN THE BETA BAND INCREASED, WHILE THE AMPLITUDE OF THE ALPHA BAND REDUCED. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ANYB WAS ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER CALMNESS, WHEREAS QUIET SITTING WITHOUT SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH AROUSAL. THE RESULTS IMPLY A POSSIBLE USE OF ANYB FOR STRESS AND ANXIETY REDUCTION. 2017 16 1641 26 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 17 747 33 EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP) AND VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS) IN EPILEPTICS. THE EFFECT OF SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION ON 32 PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY IDIOPATHIC EPILEPSY ON REGULAR AND MAINTAINED ANTIEPILEPTIC MEDICATION WAS STUDIED. THE PATIENTS WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO 3 GROUPS: GROUP I PRACTICED SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION TWICE DAILY FOR 6 MONTHS UNDER PROPER GUIDANCE; GROUP II PRACTICED POSTURAL EXERCISES MIMICKING THE MEDITATION FOR THE SAME DURATION; AND GROUP III WAS THE CONTROL GROUP. VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY (VCS), AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (AEP), BRAINSTEM AUDITORY EVOKED POTENTIALS (BAEP), AND MID LATENCY RESPONSES (MLR) WERE RECORDED INITIALLY (0 MONTH) AND AT 3 AND 6 MONTHS FOR EACH GROUP. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN VCS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE IN GROUP I PARTICIPANTS. NA, THE FIRST PROMINENT NEGATIVE PEAK OF MLR AND PA, THE POSITIVE PEAK FOLLOWING NA DID NOT REGISTER CHANGES IN LATENCY. THE NA-PA AMPLITUDE OF MLR ALSO SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE ABSOLUTE AND INTERPEAK LATENCIES OF BAEP. THE REDUCED LEVEL OF STRESS FOLLOWING MEDITATION PRACTICE MAY MAKE PATIENTS MORE RESPONSIVE TO SPECIFIC STIMULI. SAHAJA YOGA MEDITATION APPEARS TO BRING ABOUT CHANGES IN SOME OF THE ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES STUDIED IN EPILEPTIC PATIENTS. 2000 18 1836 17 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 1319 28 HEART RATE VARIABILITY, FLOW, MOOD AND MENTAL STRESS DURING YOGA PRACTICES IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS, NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND PEOPLE WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME. HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AND RESPIRATORY SINUS ARRHYTHMIA ARE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH AUTONOMIC FLEXIBILITY, SELF-REGULATION AND WELL-BEING, AND INVERSELY ASSOCIATED WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND PATHOLOGY. YOGA ENHANCES AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY, MITIGATES STRESS AND BENEFITS STRESS-RELATED CLINICAL CONDITIONS, YET THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES DURING YOGA PRACTICES AND STRESSFUL STIMULI HAS NOT BEEN WIDELY EXPLORED. THIS EXPERIMENTAL STUDY EXPLORED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HRV, MOOD STATES AND FLOW EXPERIENCES IN REGULAR YOGA PRACTITIONERS (YP), NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS (NY) AND PEOPLE WITH METABOLIC SYNDROME (METS), DURING MENTAL ARITHMETIC STRESS TEST (MAST) AND VARIOUS YOGA PRACTICES. THE STUDY FOUND THAT THE MAST PLACED A CARDIO-AUTONOMIC BURDEN IN ALL PARTICIPANTS WITH THE YP GROUP SHOWING THE GREATEST REACTIVITY AND THE MOST RAPID RECOVERY, WHILE THE METS GROUP HAD SIGNIFICANTLY BLUNTED RECOVERY. THE YP GROUP ALSO REPORTED A HEIGHTENED EXPERIENCE OF FLOW AND POSITIVE MOOD STATES COMPARED TO NY AND METS GROUPS AS WELL AS HAVING A HIGHER VAGAL TONE DURING ALL RESTING CONDITIONS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST YOGA PRACTITIONERS HAVE A GREATER HOMEOSTATIC CAPACITY AND AUTONOMIC, METABOLIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESILIENCE. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NOW NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF REGULAR YOGA PRACTICE MAY IMPROVE AUTONOMIC FLEXIBILITY IN NON-YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND METABOLIC SYNDROME PATIENTS. CLINICAL TRIAL NO 'ACTRN 2614001075673'. 2016 20 1353 46 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF SPECIFIC NOSTRIL MANIPULATING YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES ON AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY VARIABLES. THE EFFECT OF RIGHT, LEFT, AND ALTERNATE NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING (I.E., RNYB, LNYB, AND ANYB, RESPECTIVELY) WERE COMPARED WITH BREATH AWARENESS (BAW) AND NORMAL BREATHING (CTL). AUTONOMIC AND RESPIRATORY VARIABLES WERE STUDIED IN 21 MALE VOLUNTEERS WITH AGES BETWEEN 18 AND 45 YEARS AND EXPERIENCE IN THE YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES BETWEEN 3 AND 48 MONTHS. SUBJECTS WERE ASSESSED IN FIVE EXPERIMENTAL SESSIONS ON FIVE SEPARATE DAYS. THE SESSIONS WERE IN FIXED POSSIBLE SEQUENCES AND SUBJECTS WERE ASSIGNED TO A SEQUENCE RANDOMLY. EACH SESSION WAS FOR 40 MIN; 30 MIN FOR THE BREATHING PRACTICE, PRECEDED AND FOLLOWED BY 5 MIN OF QUIET SITTING. ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED HEART RATE VARIABILITY, SKIN CONDUCTANCE, FINGER PLETHYSMOGRAM AMPLITUDE, BREATH RATE, AND BLOOD PRESSURE. FOLLOWING RNYB THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SYSTOLIC, DIASTOLIC AND MEAN PRESSURE. IN CONTRAST, THE SYSTOLIC AND DIASTOLIC PRESSURE DECREASED AFTER ANYB AND THE SYSTOLIC AND MEAN PRESSURE WERE LOWER AFTER LNYB. HENCE, UNILATERAL NOSTRIL YOGA BREATHING PRACTICES APPEAR TO INFLUENCE THE BLOOD PRESSURE IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THESE EFFECTS SUGGEST POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS. 2008