1 2142 135 THE EFFECTS OF HOT YOGA ON KIDNEY FUNCTION: AN OBSERVATIONAL PILOT AND FEASIBILITY STUDY. YOGA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE HEALTH BENEFITS, WHEREAS EXERCISING IN A HOT ENVIRONMENT HAS DELETERIOUS EFFECTS ON KIDNEY FUNCTION. THERE ARE NO LONG-TERM STUDIES ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HOT YOGA. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE CHANGES IN RENAL FUNCTION ACUTELY AND OVER TIME BETWEEN PRACTITIONERS OF HOT AND NON-HOT YOGA. URINE AND CAPILLARY SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FOR URINALYSIS, ALBUMIN-CREATININE RATIO, AND SERUM CREATININE AT YOGA STUDIOS PREAND POSTEXERCISE OVER 1 YEAR. THIRTY-TWO PARTICIPANTS IN NON-HOT YOGA AND 19 PARTICIPANTS IN HOT YOGA WERE RECRUITED. DIFFERENCE IN BLOOD CAPILLARY CREATININE (POST-YOGA MINUS PRE-YOGA) SHOWED A 7.52 MUMOL/L (SD 11.46) INCREASE FOR PRACTITIONERS OF HOT YOGA AND A 4.07 MUMOL/L (SD 9.94) INCREASE FOR PRACTITIONERS OF NON-HOT YOGA, WITH A BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCE OF 3.45 MUMOL/L (95% CI -0.42, 7.32; P = 0.08). OVER 1 YEAR, THE MEAN DIFFERENCE IN BLOOD CAPILLARY CREATININE FOR THE HOT GROUP INCREASED BY 0.91 MUMOL/L (SD 11.00) AND BY 3.08 MUMOL/L (SD 9.96) FOR THE NON-HOT GROUP, WITH A BETWEEN-GROUP DIFFERENCE OF -2.17 MUMOL/L (95% CI -10.20, 5.86; P = 0.58). OVER 1 YEAR, THE MEAN DIFFERENCE IN ALBUMIN-CREATININE RATIO FOR THE HOT GROUP WAS -0.16 MG/MMOL CREATININE (SD = 0.74); FOR THE NON-HOT GROUP THE DIFFERENCE WAS -0.20 MG/MUMOL (SD = 0.80). THE DIFFERENCE IN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HOT AND NON-HOT GROUPS WAS 0.04 MG/MUMOL (95% CI -0.60, 0.68; P = 0.90). URINE COLLECTED FOR URINALYSIS COULD NOT BE ANALYZED DUE TO TOO MANY 0 VALUES. THIS PRAGMATIC OBSERVATIONAL STUDY DID NOT FIND A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN RENAL FUNCTION BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS IN NON-HOT AND HOT YOGA EITHER ACUTELY OR OVER 1 YEAR. A LARGER AND LONGER STUDY FOCUSING ON BLOOD CREATININE OVER TIME WOULD HELP TO INFORM THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF HOT YOGA ON THE KIDNEYS. 2022 2 1851 33 RAJA YOGA MEDITATION AND MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT FOR RELAPSE PREVENTION: A PILOT STUDY. THE CONTINUED NEED FOR ADVANCEMENT IN EVIDENCE-BASED SUD TREATMENT, AS WELL AS INCREASES IN TREATMENT EXPENSE AND DECLINE IN SUPPORT FROM INSURANCE PROVIDERS, SUGGEST THAT BRIEF, INNOVATIVE, AND AFFORDABLE TREATMENTS ARE NEEDED. MEDITATION, SPIRITUALITY, AND ADHERENCE TO MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENTS HAVE ALL BEEN SHOWN TO SUPPORT ABSTINENCE. THE CURRENT TRIAL ASSESSED EFFECTS OF SPIRITUALLY-BASED MEDITATION, VERSUS RELAXATION OR STANDARD TREATMENT, ON SUBSTANCE ABSTINENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND DYSFUNCTION IN A PARTIALLY BUPRENORPHINE-SUPPORTED (41.5%) TREATMENT SAMPLE. PARTICIPANTS (N=40) WERE RECRUITED FROM AN INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT TREATMENT PROGRAM, IN WHICH THREE TREATMENT LOCATIONS ACTED AS SEPARATE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS. ABSTINENCE WAS MEASURED THROUGH URINALYSES AT BASELINE AND WEEKLY THEREAFTER FOR THE DURATION OF THE INTERVENTION. PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND DYSFUNCTION WERE ASSESSED WITH A LIKERT-SCALED QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURING SYMPTOMS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH SUD. CO-VARYING FOR BUPRENORPHINE USE, PARTICIPANTS IN THE MEDITATION CONDITION HAD BETTER ODDS OF REMAINING ABSTINENT THAN PARTICIPANTS IN THE TREATMENT-AS-USUAL (TAU) AND RELAXATION CONDITIONS. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN SUBSTANCE ABSTINENCE BETWEEN THE RELAXATION AND TAU CONDITIONS. FURTHER, CO-VARYING OUT BASELINE THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES AT POST-COURSE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND DYSFUNCTION BETWEEN THE THREE CONDITIONS. RESULTS FROM THIS PILOT TRIAL SUGGEST THAT THIS SPIRITUALLY-INFORMED APPROACH MAY OFFER ADDITIVE SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUALS IN SUD TREATMENT, AS AN AID TO THE MEDITATIVE ASPECT OF THE 12 STEPS, OR A NON-12-STEP ALTERNATIVE SPIRITUAL SUPPLEMENT TO STANDARD SUD TREATMENT. 2019 3 1897 24 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 4 1333 32 HOT YOGA ESTABLISHMENTS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES SERVING PREGNANT WOMEN: A PILOT STUDY ON THE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF ITS PRACTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. HOT YOGA ESTABLISHMENTS HAVE BEEN INCREASING IN POPULARITY IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES. STUDIOS MAY SUPPORT PARTICIPATION AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN THOUGH NO CLINICAL STUDIES CURRENTLY EXIST THAT EXAMINE PRENATAL HOT YOGA EFFECTS. THE PILOT STUDY DESCRIBED IN THIS ARTICLE AIMED TO ASSESS THE SPREAD OF PRENATAL HOT YOGA AND TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND PRACTICES OF THOSE WHO ENGAGE IN HOT YOGA WITHIN A LOCAL COMMUNITY. A THERMAL ENVIRONMENT METER WAS USED TO MEASURE AMBIENT AIR CONDITIONS DURING THREE 90-MINUTE HOT YOGA CLASSES. MOTHERS WHO PRACTICED PRENATAL HOT YOGA WERE MORE LIKELY THAN NON-HOT YOGA PRACTITIONERS TO HAVE SOMEONE ASIDE FROM AN OBSTETRICIAN/GYNECOLOGIST DISCUSS PRENATAL EXERCISE SAFETY WITH THEM. PRENATAL PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS NEED TO BE REFINED. PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS AND OBSTETRICIANS/GYNECOLOGISTS NEED TO BE AWARE THAT THOSE WHO ENGAGE IN A HOT YOGA PRACTICE ARE MORE LIKELY TO TRUST SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEIR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONAL REGARDING SAFETY OF THIS PRACTICE. 2014 5 2477 32 YOGA AS AN ADJUNCTIVE INTERVENTION TO MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT WITH BUPRENORPHINE+NALOXONE. OBJECTIVE: ACCORDING TO THE CDC, 2.6 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE AN OPIOID USE DISORDER AND DRUG OVERDOSE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH. OPIOIDS ARE INVOLVED IN 63% OF OVERDOSE DEATHS. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE IDENTIFY EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENTS TO STEM THE TIDE OF THIS EPIDEMIC. THIS PILOT STUDY SERVES TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF YOGA AS AN ADJUNCTIVE INTERVENTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH OPIOID USE DISORDER IN ACTIVE MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT (MAT). METHODS: PARTICIPANTS (N=26) WERE RECRUITED FROM A BUPRENORPHINE/NALOXONE MAT PROGRAM TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY. 13 PARTICIPANTS ENGAGED IN A 12 WEEK ADJUNCTIVE YOGA INTERVENTION WHILE REMAINING IN TREATMENT AS USUAL (TAU) MAT. 13 MATCHED CONTROLS WERE RECRUITED AND REMAINED IN TAU MAT. BOTH GROUPS WERE EVALUATED AT BASELINE, 45 DAYS AND 90 DAYS FOR CHANGES IN CRAVING FOR OPIOIDS, TREATMENT RETENTION, RELAPSE RATES, SLEEP, AND SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY AND PERCEIVED STRESS. RESULTS: A TWO-WAY TREATMENT BY TIME ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE WAS PERFORMED USING A MIXED EFFECTS MODEL. THE TREATMENT BY FOLLOW-UP TIME INTERACTION EFFECT WAS SIGNIFICANT FOR PERCEIVED STRESS (P=0.026) INDICATING THAT THE YOGA INTERVENTION HAD A LARGER EFFECT THAN TAU (MAT). CHANGES IN PERCEIVED STRESS DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER TIME IN BOTH THE YOGA INTERVENTION GROUP AND THE TAU MAT MATCHED CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSION: THIS PILOT STUDY INDICATED STRONG EVIDENCE FOR YOGA BEING AN EFFECTIVE ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT TO MAT TAU IN REDUCING PERCEIVED STRESS. FURTHER RESEARCH WITH A LARGER POPULATION IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE IMPACT ON OTHER MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS AND RELAPSE AND RETENTION RATES. 2018 6 2082 26 THE EFFECT OF HATHA YOGA INTERVENTION ON STUDENTS' CREATIVE ABILITY. THERE IS INCREASING DEMAND FOR INDIVIDUAL CREATIVITY AS ORGANIZATIONS SEEK INNOVATIVE WAYS TO REMAIN RELEVANT. HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, PARTICULARLY BUSINESS SCHOOLS, ARE SENSITIVE TO THIS DEMAND AND ARE CONSTANTLY IN SEARCH FOR INNOVATIVE WAYS TO ENHANCE THE CREATIVE ABILITY OF THEIR STUDENTS. PRIOR STUDIES HAVE SHOWN ENCOURAGING RESULTS FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY-ORIENTED INTERVENTIONS. BUILDING ON THIS RESEARCH, THIS STUDY USES RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) TO UNDERSTAND IF AN ACUTE COMBINATORY INTERVENTION, INVOLVING BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EXERCISES EMBODIED IN HATHA YOGA CAN IMPROVE INDIVIDUAL CREATIVITY. THIS STUDY USES 92 MBA STUDENT PARTICIPANTS TO INVESTIGATE THE IMPACT OF A 20-MINUTE HATHA YOGA SESSION INTERVENTION AGAINST A SHORT 20-MINUTE CASE STUDY SESSION FOR THE CONTROL GROUP. CREATIVE ABILITY OF THE PARTICIPANTS IS OPERATIONALIZED THROUGH DIVERGENT AND CONVERGENT THINKING, WHICH ARE THEN ASSESSED THROUGH COUNTER-BALANCED FORMS OF GUILFORD ALTERNATE USES TASKS AND REMOTE ASSOCIATE TEST, RESPECTIVELY. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT WHILE HATHA YOGA SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES DIVERGENT THINKING, THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWS DETERIORATION IN DIVERGENT THINKING. THERE IS NO EFFECT ON CONVERGENT THINKING. THESE FINDINGS LEND SOME SUPPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION HYPOTHESIS. THE STUDY ALSO FINDS THAT PRODDING A PERSON TO BE MORE CREATIVE ON A ROUTINE ACADEMIC TASK MAY NOT ENHANCE THEIR CREATIVE ABILITY. 2020 7 2175 28 THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION AND ADDITIONAL FACETS OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION, AND THE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS THAT COULD EXPLAIN THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON ADDITIONAL FACETS OF POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. YOUNG ADULT WOMEN (N=114; MAGE=22.19) WERE RANDOMISED TO A 10-WEEK HATHA YOGA PROGRAMME OR WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP. PARTICIPANTS COMPLETED MEASURES OF FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION, BODY APPRECIATION, BODY COMPASSION, APPEARANCE EVALUATION, SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, AND EMBODIMENT AT PRETEST, MIDTEST, POSTTEST, AND 1-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. FOLLOW-UP DATA COULD NOT BE ANALYSED DUE TO HIGH LEVELS OF ATTRITION. THE REMAINING DATA SHOWED THAT, COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, WOMEN IN THE YOGA PROGRAMME EXPERIENCED LOWER SELF-OBJECTIFICATION AT MIDTEST AND GREATER EMBODIMENT OVER TIME. FURTHER, ALL PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCED IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY APPRECIATION, BODY COMPASSION, AND APPEARANCE EVALUATION OVER TIME, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ASSIGNED GROUP. LOWER SELF-OBJECTIFICATION CONTRIBUTED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY APPRECIATION AND BODY COMPASSION. IN ADDITION, GREATER EMBODIMENT CONTRIBUTED TO IMPROVEMENTS IN BODY APPRECIATION, BODY COMPASSION, AND APPEARANCE EVALUATION. CONTRARY TO OUR EXPECTATIONS, YOGA DID NOT LEAD TO INCREASED FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION, NOR WAS FUNCTIONALITY APPRECIATION A MEDIATOR OF THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. INSTEAD, LOWER SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, AND GREATER EMBODIMENT, DROVE IMPROVEMENTS IN POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. 2020 8 2278 22 THE ROLES OF SELF-COMPASSION, BODY SURVEILLANCE, AND BODY APPRECIATION IN PREDICTING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: CROSS-SECTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, AND PROSPECTIVE CHANGES WITHIN A YOGA CONTEXT. ENGAGING IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR THE IMMEDIATE INTERNAL EXPERIENCES IT BRINGS (E.G., PLEASURE, SATISFACTION) IS CRITICAL FOR LONG-TERM EXERCISE ADHERENCE. INVESTIGATIONS OF HOW FACTORS SUCH AS BODY IMAGE CONTRIBUTE TO INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ARE NEEDED. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED BODY SURVEILLANCE AND BODY APPRECIATION AS MEDIATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-COMPASSION AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CROSS-SECTIONALLY AND PROSPECTIVELY. ONE SAMPLE OF COLLEGE WOMEN COMPLETED MEASURES OF STUDY VARIABLES AT ONE TIME POINT (SAMPLE 1; N = 269, MAGE = 19.96) AND A SECOND SAMPLE DID SO DURING WEEKS 1, 8, AND 16 WHILE PARTICIPATING IN A 16-WEEK YOGA COURSE (SAMPLE 2; N = 323, MAGE = 20.31). IN SAMPLE 1, LATENT VARIABLE STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING SUPPORTED BODY APPRECIATION AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN SELF-COMPASSION AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. IN SAMPLE 2, LATENT GROWTH CURVE ANALYSES REVEALED THAT CHANGE IN SELF-COMPASSION PREDICTED CHANGES IN BODY SURVEILLANCE AND BODY APPRECIATION IN EXPECTED DIRECTIONS. FURTHER, CHANGE IN BODY APPRECIATION POSITIVELY PREDICTED CHANGE IN INTRINSIC MOTIVATION. TARGETING SELF-COMPASSION AND BODY APPRECIATION MAY HELP SUPPORT WOMEN'S INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. 2019 9 1098 25 EFFECTS OF YOGA RESPIRATORY PRACTICE (BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA) ON ANXIETY, AFFECT, AND BRAIN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY AND ACTIVITY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. PRANAYAMA REFERS TO A SET OF YOGA BREATHING EXERCISES. RECENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMA HAS POSITIVE EFFECTS ON MEASURES OF CLINICAL STRESS AND ANXIETY. THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE IMPACT OF A BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA TRAINING PROGRAM ON EMOTION PROCESSING, ANXIETY, AND AFFECT. WE USED A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL DESIGN WITH THIRTY HEALTHY YOUNG ADULTS ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 4 WEEKS OF PRANAYAMA PRACTICES. TWO FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) PROTOCOLS WERE USED BOTH AT BASELINE AND POST-INTERVENTION: AN EMOTION TASK AS WELL AS A RESTING-STATE ACQUISITION. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT PRANAYAMA SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED STATES OF ANXIETY AND NEGATIVE AFFECT. THE PRACTICE OF PRANAYAMA ALSO MODULATED THE ACTIVITY OF BRAIN REGIONS INVOLVED IN EMOTIONAL PROCESSING, PARTICULARLY THE AMYGDALA, ANTERIOR CINGULATE, ANTERIOR INSULA, AND PREFRONTAL CORTEX. RESTING-STATE FUNCTIONAL MRI (FMRI) SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY INVOLVING THE ANTERIOR INSULA AND LATERAL PORTIONS OF THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX. CORRELATION ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT CHANGES IN CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE VENTROLATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND THE RIGHT ANTERIOR INSULA WERE ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN ANXIETY. ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THESE ANALYSES WERE PRELIMINARY AND EXPLORATORY, IT PROVIDES THE FIRST EVIDENCE THAT 4 WEEKS OF B. PRANAYAMA SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND NEGATIVE AFFECT, AND THAT THESE CHANGES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE MODULATION OF ACTIVITY AND CONNECTIVITY IN BRAIN AREAS INVOLVED IN EMOTION PROCESSING, ATTENTION, AND AWARENESS. THE STUDY WAS REGISTERED AT HTTPS://WWW.ENSAIOSCLINICOS.GOV.BR/RG/RBR-2GV5C2/(RBR-2GV5C2). 2020 10 1593 28 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 11 978 32 EFFECTS OF BODY-ORIENTED YOGA: A RCT STUDY FOR PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. THE MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MENTAL ILLNESSES WORLDWIDE. CURRENT TREATMENT STANDARDS RECOMMEND A COMBINED THERAPY WITH MEDICATION AND PSYCHOTHERAPY. AS AN ADDITIVE COMPONENT AND TO FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATMENT, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SUCH AS YOGA MAY BE INTEGRATED INTO CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE IMPACT OF A 3-MONTH BODY-ORIENTED YOGA IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD). IN TOTAL, N = 83 PATIENTS WERE INCLUDED. AN INTERVENTION GROUP RECEIVED A VIGOROUS ASHTANGA-YOGA THREE TIMES A WEEK. THE WAITING-LIST CONTROL GROUP OBTAINED A TREATMENT AS USUAL (TAU). AS A PRIMARY OUTCOME DEPRESSION SCORES (BECK DEPRESSION INVENTORY-II (BDI-II), MONTGOMERY ASBERG DEPRESSION RATING SCALE (MADRS)) WERE TESTED AT THREE TIME POINTS. SECONDARY OUTCOME WAS THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT [POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT SCALE (PANAS)] AND REMISSION RATES. TO ANALYZE THE DATA, MULTILEVEL MODELS AND EFFECT SIZES WERE CONDUCTED. THE RESULTS SHOWED AN IMPROVEMENT IN BDI-II SCORES FOR BOTH GROUPS OVER TIME [GAMMA = - 3.46, T(165) = - 7.99, P < 0.001] BUT NOT BETWEEN GROUPS [GAMMA = 0.98, T(164) = 1.12, P = 0.263]. AN INTERACTION EFFECT (TIME X GROUP) OCCURRED FOR MADRS [GAMMA = 2.10, T(164) = 2.10, P < 0.038]. POSITIVE AFFECTS IMPROVED OVER TIME FOR BOTH GROUPS [GAMMA = 1.65, T(165) = 4.03, P < 0.001]. NEGATIVE AFFECTS DECREASED FOR ALL OVER TIME [GAMMA = - 1.00, T(165) = - 2.51, P = 0.013]. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT GROUP DIFFERENCES IN PANAS. POST HOC TESTS REVEALED A GREATER SYMPTOM REDUCTION WITHIN THE FIRST 6 WEEKS FOR ALL MEASUREMENTS. THE EFFECT SIZES FOR DEPRESSION SCORES SHOWED A POSITIVE TREND. REMISSION RATES INDICATED A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE YOGA GROUP (BDI-II: 46.81%, MADRS: 17.02%) COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (BDI: 33.33%, MADRS: 8.33%). THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A TRENDSETTING ADDITIVE EFFECT OF ASHTANGA-YOGA AFTER 3 MONTHS ON PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND MOOD WITH A GREATER IMPROVEMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERVENTION. FURTHER RESEARCH IN THIS FIELD CAN HELP TO ACHIEVE MORE DIFFERENTIATED RESULTS. 2021 12 1565 29 LOW AND THEN HIGH FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS OF DISTINCT RIGHT CORTICAL NETWORKS ARE PROGRESSIVELY ENHANCED BY MEDIUM AND LONG TERM SATYANANDA YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICE. MEDITATION PROFICIENCY IS RELATED TO TRAIT-LIKE (LEARNED) EFFECTS ON BRAIN FUNCTION, DEVELOPED OVER TIME. PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOW INCREASES IN EEG POWER IN LOWER FREQUENCY BANDS (THETA, ALPHA) IN EXPERIENCED MEDITATORS IN BOTH MEDITATION STATES AND BASELINE CONDITIONS. HIGHER GAMMA BAND POWER HAS BEEN FOUND IN ADVANCED BUDDHIST MEDITATORS, YET IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THIS OCCURS IN YOGA MEDITATION PRACTICES. THIS STUDY USED ELORETA TO COMPARE DIFFERENCES IN CORTICAL SOURCE ACTIVITY UNDERLYING SCALP EEG FROM INTERMEDIATE (MEAN EXPERIENCE 4 YEARS) AND ADVANCED (MEAN EXPERIENCE 30 YEARS) AUSTRALIAN MEDITATORS FROM THE SATYANANDA YOGA TRADITION DURING A BODY-STEADINESS MEDITATION, MANTRA MEDITATION, AND NON-MEDITATION MENTAL CALCULATION CONDITION. INTERMEDIATE YOGA MEDITATORS SHOWED GREATER SOURCE ACTIVITY IN LOW FREQUENCIES (PARTICULARLY THETA AND ALPHA1) DURING MENTAL CALCULATION, BODY-STEADINESS AND MANTRA MEDITATION. A SIMILAR SPATIAL PATTERN OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WAS FOUND IN ALL CONDITIONS BUT THE NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT VOXELS WAS DOUBLE DURING BODY-STEADINESS AND MANTRA MEDITATION THAN IN THE NON-MEDITATION (CALCULATION) CONDITION. THESE DIFFERENCES WERE GREATEST IN RIGHT (R) SUPERIOR FRONTAL AND R PRECENTRAL GYRI AND EXTENDED BACK TO INCLUDE THE R PARIETAL AND OCCIPITAL LOBES. ADVANCED YOGA MEDITATORS SHOWED GREATER ACTIVITY IN HIGH FREQUENCIES (BETA AND ESPECIALLY GAMMA) IN ALL CONDITIONS BUT GREATLY EXPANDED DURING MEDITATION PRACTICE. ACROSS ALL CONDITIONS (MEDITATION AND NON-MEDITATION) DIFFERENCES WERE GREATEST IN THE SAME REGIONS: R INSULA, R INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS AND R ANTERIOR TEMPORAL LOBE. DISTINCT R CORE NETWORKS WERE IDENTIFIED IN ALPHA1 (8-10 HZ) AND GAMMA (25-42 HZ) BANDS, RESPECTIVELY. THE VOXELS RECRUITED TO THESE NETWORKS GREATLY EXPANDED DURING MEDITATION PRACTICE TO INCLUDE HOMOLOGOUS REGIONS OF THE LEFT HEMISPHERE. FUNCTIONAL INTERPRETATION PARALLELS TRADITIONALLY DESCRIBED STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN YOGA PROFICIENCY. 2014 13 1496 29 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 14 542 30 COMPUTERIZED COGNITIVE TRAINING (CCT) VERSUS YOGA IMPACT ON 12 MONTH POST INTERVENTION COGNITIVE OUTCOME IN INDIVIDUALS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. THERE IS CURRENTLY LIMITED AND MIXED EVIDENCE FOR THE COGNITIVE BENEFITS OF COMPUTERIZED COGNITIVE TRAINING (CCT) AND YOGA IN PERSONS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (PWMCI). THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE BENEFIT OF COMPUTERIZED COGNITIVE TRAINING (CCT) VS. PHYSICAL (YOGA) INTERVENTION ON COGNITIVE ABILITIES. PARTICIPANTS IN THIS STUDY WERE PART OF THE LARGER MAYO CLINIC'S HEALTHY ACTION TO BENEFIT INDEPENDENCE AND THINKING (HABIT) PROGRAM COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS TRIAL. THE HABIT PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR PWMCI AND THEIR CARE PARTNER AND CONSISTS OF FIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS: CCT, MEMORY SUPPORT SYSTEM-CALENDAR (MSS-CALENDAR), WELLNESS EDUCATION, SUPPORT GROUPS, AND YOGA. THE SUBTRACTIVE STUDY DESIGN RANDOMLY WITHHELD ONE OF THE INTERVENTIONS FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE STUDY ARMS. LONGITUDINAL MIXED-EFFECTS REGRESSION MODELS WERE USED TO INVESTIGATE THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CCT AND YOGA HAS A GREATER POSITIVE IMPACT ON PSYCHOMOTOR AND BASIC ATTENTION ABILITIES AT 12 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION AS COMPARED TO THE OTHER HABIT INTERVENTIONS. FINDINGS SHOWED CCT HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT COMPARED TO YOGA ON THE COGSTATE PSYCHOMOTOR/ATTENTION COMPOSITE AT 12 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION (ES = 0.54; UNADJUSTED P VALUE = 0.007, ADJUSTED P VALUE = 0.021). THE IMPACT OF YOGA OR COMBINING CCT WITH YOGA DID NOT SHOW STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT. CONTINUED CCT PRACTICE AT HOME SHOWED FURTHER BENEFIT ON PSYCHOMOTOR/ATTENTION AT 12 MONTHS POST-INTERVENTION. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT OF CCT OR YOGA ON COGSTATE LEARNING/WORKING MEMORY COMPOSITE. 2021 15 1727 24 PERFORMANCE IN A SUBSTITUTION TASK AND STATE ANXIETY FOLLOWING YOGA IN ARMY RECRUITS. 140 MEN (M AGE = 30.3 YR., SD = 5.7) FROM THE INDIAN ARMY IN NORTH INDIA PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. THEY WERE NAIVE TO YOGA AND WERE ASSIGNED TO YOGA AND BREATH AWARENESS GROUPS RANDOMLY, WITH 70 IN EACH GROUP. 20 HEALTHY MALES OF COMPARABLE AGE (M AGE = 33.7 YR., SD = 7.0) FORMED A COMPARISON GROUP. THEIR PERFORMANCE IN A DIGIT-LETTER SUBSTITUTION TASK AND A STATE ANXIETY SUBSCALE WAS ASSESSED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER TWO 45-MIN. SESSIONS. THE TWO GROUPS OF SOLDIERS PRACTICED EITHER YOGA OR BREATH AWARENESS. THE COMPARISON GROUP LISTENED TO MEDITATION MUSIC. DIGIT-LETTER SUBSTITUTION SCORES INCREASED IN BOTH GROUPS OF ARMY PERSONNEL AND IN THE COMPARISON GROUP. STATE ANXIETY DECREASED AFTER YOGA AND LISTENING TO MEDITATION MUSIC, BUT NOT AFTER BREATH AWARENESS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT EVEN IN ARMY PERSONNEL NAIVE TO YOGA, A YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION OR LISTENING TO MEDITATION MUSIC COULD REDUCE ANXIETY WHILE INCREASING PERFORMANCE ON AN ATTENTION TASK. 2012 16 455 32 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 17 1559 26 LONG-TERM VIHANGAM YOGA MEDITATION AND SCORES ON TESTS OF ATTENTION. ALTHOUGH THE LITERATURE INDICATES THAT MEDITATION HAS BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON SEVERAL ASPECTS OF HUMAN FUNCTIONING, FEW STUDIES HAVE SPECIFICALLY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION ON VARIOUS DOMAINS OF ATTENTION. THIS STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO EXAMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN VARIOUS DOMAINS OF ATTENTION BETWEEN LONG-TERM CONCENTRATIVE MEDITATORS VERSUS MATCHED CONTROLS. 15 PRACTITIONERS OF VIHANGAM YOGA (> 10 YR. EXPERIENCE) WERE ENROLLED IN THE STUDY. CONTROLS MATCHED ON AGE, SEX, AND YEARS OF EDUCATION WERE RECRUITED. BOTH GROUPS WERE ADMINISTERED THE STROOP, TRAIL-MAKING, AND DIGIT SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION TESTS AS WELL AS THE DIGIT FORWARD AND DIGIT BACKWARD TESTS. THE GROUP OF VIHANGAM YOGIS HAD SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER MEAN PERFORMANCE ON ALL TESTS OF ATTENTION. LONG-TERM VIHANGAM YOGA MEDITATION IMPROVES ATTENTION SPAN, PROCESSING SPEED, ATTENTION ALTERNATION ABILITY, AND PERFORMANCE IN INTERFERENCE TESTS. 2010 18 128 18 A PILOT YOGA PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM TO PROMOTE POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. WE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF A PILOT YOGA-BASED PHYSICAL EDUCATION (PE) CURRICULUM BY TESTING FOR CHANGE IN TRAIT BODY SURVEILLANCE, PHYSICAL SELF-WORTH, AND BODY APPRECIATION. FURTHER, WE EXAMINED THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CHANGE IN BODY IMAGE VARIABLES AND THE ROLE OF STATE MINDFULNESS IN PREDICTING STATE BODY SURVEILLANCE DURING CLASSES. ADOLESCENTS PARTICIPATED IN 12 WEEKS OF YOGA-BASED (N=20; MAGE=16.45, 90% FEMALE) OR TRADITIONAL (N=23;MAGE=14.52, 57% FEMALE) PE. RESULTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P=.004), MODERATE DECREASES IN TRAIT BODY SURVEILLANCE AND MINIMAL NONSIGNIFICANT (P=.11) INCREASES IN PHYSICAL SELF-WORTH. CHANGE IN TRAIT BODY SURVEILLANCE WAS INVERSELY RELATED TO CHANGE IN PHYSICAL SELF-WORTH AND BODY APPRECIATION IN YOGA PARTICIPANTS. MULTI-LEVEL MODELING ANALYSES REVEALED THAT MORE MINDFUL STUDENTS ALSO SURVEYED THEIR BODY LESS DURING CLASS. INTENTIONALLY STRUCTURED YOGA PARTICIPATION MAY SUPPORT POSITIVE BODY IMAGE AMONG ADOLESCENTS. 2017 19 186 21 A RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF A YOGA-BASED BODY IMAGE INTERVENTION. RECENT LITERATURE ARGUES THAT BODY IMAGE INTERVENTIONS NEED TO BECOME MORE EMBODIED. THIS PAPER EVALUATES A BRIEF YOGA-BASED BODY IMAGE INTERVENTION WHICH INCORPORATES THEMES SPECIFICALLY TAILORED TO FOCUS ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE. YOUNG WOMEN (MAGE = 20.21, SDAGE = 2.15) WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO A FOUR-SESSION YOGA INTERVENTION (N = 22) OR A CONTROL CONDITION (N = 22). COMPARED TO CONTROLS, PARTICIPANTS IN THE YOGA CONDITION REPORTED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN BODY APPRECIATION, BODY CONNECTEDNESS, BODY SATISFACTION, AND POSITIVE MOOD AT POSTTEST AND AT 4-WEEK FOLLOW-UP. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN NEGATIVE MOOD OR BODY SURVEILLANCE. THESE FINDINGS ADD TO EXISTING EVIDENCE THAT YOGA CAN IMPROVE WOMEN'S BODY IMAGE AND POSITIVE MOOD. IN ADDITION, THEY SUGGEST THAT A STRONG THEMATIC FOCUS ON POSITIVE BODY IMAGE CAN ACHIEVE BENEFITS AT RELATIVELY LOW YOGA DOSES. THESE FINDINGS ARE IMPORTANT AS INTERVENTION LENGTH IMPACTS THE POTENTIAL FOR DISSEMINATION. 2019 20 769 30 EFFECT OF UNILATERAL LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (CHANDRA ANGA PRANAYAMA) ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEALTHY YOGA-NAIVE INDIVIDUALS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PILOT STUDY. INTRODUCTION: BREATHING MODULATES CORTICAL NEURONAL ACTIVITY. VARIOUS BREATHING EXERCISES ARE PURPORTED TO HAVE SPECIFIC EFFECTS ON EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF UNILATERAL LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (ULNB) ON NONLATERALIZED, OVERALL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS USING COMPUTERIZED PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS. METHODS: A RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED, PILOT STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG 20 HEALTHY YOGA-NAIVE MEDICAL STUDENTS. ULNB WAS PERFORMED FOR 15 MIN BY THE TEST GROUP (N = 10) AND BREATH AWARENESS BY THE CONTROL GROUP (N = 10). ATTENTION AND PROCESSING SPEED, MEMORY, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION WERE ASSESSED USING THE LETTER-DIGIT SUBSTITUTION TEST, STERNBERG MEMORY TASK, AND VICTORIA STROOP TEST, RESPECTIVELY. BASELINE, PRE- AND POSTINTERVENTION SCORES WERE RECORDED. RESULTS: THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS IN BASELINE SCORES. IN THE STERNBERG MEMORY TASK, A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN RESPONSE TIME WAS SEEN IN THE TEST (T(9) = 3.855, P = 0.004) AS WELL AS THE CONTROL GROUP (T(9) = 3.120, P = 0.012); THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS. NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OF UNLB WAS SEEN IN THE LETTER-DIGIT SUBSTITUTION TEST AND STROOP TEST. CONCLUSIONS: OUR STUDY SHOWED NO DIFFERENCE IN THE EFFECTS OF 15-MIN PRACTICE OF ULNB AND BREATH AWARENESS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS; BOTH IMPROVED MEMORY BUT NOT ATTENTION OR EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. 2020