1 1986 83 SPATIAL AND VERBAL MEMORY TEST SCORES FOLLOWING YOGA AND FINE ARTS CAMPS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN. THE PERFORMANCE SCORES OF CHILDREN (AGED 11 TO 16 YEARS) IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS WERE COMPARED FOR TWO GROUPS (N = 30, EACH), ONE ATTENDING A YOGA CAMP AND THE OTHER A FINE ARTS CAMP. BOTH GROUPS WERE ASSESSED ON THE MEMORY TASKS INITIALLY AND AFTER TEN DAYS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. A CONTROL GROUP (N = 30) WAS SIMILARLY STUDIED TO ASSESS THE TEST-RETEST EFFECT. AT THE FINAL ASSESSMENT THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF 43% IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES (MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS, TUKEY TEST), WHILE THE FINE ARTS AND CONTROL GROUPS SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT YOGA PRACTICE, INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES, YOGA BREATHING, MEDITATION AND GUIDED RELAXATION IMPROVED DELAYED RECALL OF SPATIAL INFORMATION. 2004 2 1857 29 RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION IN RESIDENTS FROM ELDERLY HOMES: EFFECTS ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION. CONTEXT: ELDERLY HAVE INCREASED RISK FOR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA. YOGA THERAPY MAY BE HELPFUL IN ELDERLY TO IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTION. AIMS: WE EXAMINED THE BENEFITS OF YOGA-BASED INTERVENTION COMPARED WITH WAITLIST CONTROL GROUP ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN THE RESIDENTS OF ELDERLY HOMES. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: SINGLE BLIND CONTROLLED STUDY WITH BLOCK RANDOMIZATION OF ELDERLY HOMES. MATERIALS AND METHODS: STUDY SAMPLE INCLUDED YOGA GROUP (N=62) AND WAITLIST GROUP (N=58). A TOTAL OF 87 SUBJECTS (YOGA=44, WAITLIST=43) COMPLETED THE STUDY PERIOD OF 6 MONTHS. YOGA GROUP RECEIVED DAILY YOGA SESSIONS FOR 1 MONTH, WEEKLY UNTIL 3(RD) MONTH AND ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE UNSUPERVISED UNTIL 6 MONTHS. THEY WERE ASSESSED ON REY'S AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (RAVLT), REY'S COMPLEX FIGURE TEST (CFT), WECHSLER'S MEMORY SCALE (WMS)-DIGIT AND SPATIAL SPAN, CONTROLLED ORAL WORD ASSOCIATION (COWA) TEST, STROOP COLOR WORD INTERFERENCE TEST AND TRAIL MAKING TEST A AND B AT BASELINE AND AT THE END OF 6(TH) MONTH. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: PAIRED T-TEST AND ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE (ANCOVA) TO COMPARE THE DIFFERENCE IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST SCORES. RESULTS: YOGA GROUP SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED RECALL OF VERBAL (RAVLT) AND VISUAL MEMORY (CFT), ATTENTION AND WORKING MEMORY (WMS-SPATIAL SPAN), VERBAL FLUENCY (COWA), EXECUTIVE FUNCTION (STROOP INTERFERENCE) AND PROCESSING SPEED (TRAIL MAKING TEST-A) THAN WAITLIST GROUP AT THE END OF 6 MONTHS AFTER CORRECTING FOR CORRESPONDING BASELINE SCORE AND EDUCATION. CONCLUSION: YOGA BASED-INTERVENTION APPEARS BENEFICIAL TO IMPROVE SEVERAL DOMAINS OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN ELDERLY LIVING IN RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES. STUDY FINDINGS NEED TO BE INTERPRETED AFTER CONSIDERING METHODOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS LIKE LACK OF ACTIVE COMPARISON GROUP. 2013 3 2510 42 YOGA BREATHING THROUGH A PARTICULAR NOSTRIL INCREASES SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES WITHOUT LATERALIZED EFFECTS. UNINOSTRIL BREATHING FACILITATES THE PERFORMANCE ON SPATIAL AND VERBAL COGNITIVE TASKS, SAID TO BE RIGHT AND LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS, RESPECTIVELY. SINCE HEMISPHERIC MEMORY FUNCTIONS ARE ALSO KNOWN TO BE LATERALIZED, THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF UNINOSTRIL BREATHING ON THE PERFORMANCE IN VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY TESTS. SCHOOL CHILDREN (N = 108 WHOSE AGES RANGED FROM 10 TO 17 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO FOUR GROUPS. EACH GROUP PRACTICED A SPECIFIC YOGA BREATHING TECHNIQUE: (I) RIGHT NOSTRIL BREATHING, (II) LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING, (III) ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING, OR (IV) BREATH AWARENESS WITHOUT MANIPULATION OF NOSTRILS. THESE TECHNIQUES WERE PRACTICED FOR 10 DAYS. VERBAL AND SPATIAL MEMORY WAS ASSESSED INITIALLY AND AFTER 10 DAYS. AN AGE-MATCHED CONTROL GROUP OF 27 WERE SIMILARLY ASSESSED. ALL 4 TRAINED GROUPS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN SPATIAL TEST SCORES AT RETEST, BUT THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. AVERAGE INCREASE IN SPATIAL MEMORY SCORES FOR THE TRAINED GROUPS WAS 84%. IT APPEARS YOGA BREATHING INCREASES SPATIAL RATHER THAN VERBAL SCORES, WITHOUT A LATERALIZED EFFECT. 1997 4 1121 32 EFFICACY OF INTEGRATED YOGA AND AYURVEDA RASAYANA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN ELDERLY WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: NON-RANDOMIZED THREE-ARM CLINICAL TRIAL. BACKGROUND: YOGA AND AYURVEDA ARE ANCIENT SCIENCES WHICH EMPHASIZE ON THE CURE OF DISEASE AND THE PROPORTION OF HEALTH. BOTH SCIENCES ARE ALSO KNOWN TO REDUCE THE AGING PROCESS AND ARE HELPFUL IN AGING-RELATED DISORDERS. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND AYURVEDA RASAYANA COMBINED INTERVENTION ON COGNITION AMONG THE ELDERLY WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SEVENTY-TWO ELDERLY PERSONS (AVERAGE AGE 63.3 +/- 6.44 YEARS) RECEIVED AYURVEDA RASAYANA (AR) (N = 23) OR INTEGRATED YOGA (IY) (N = 25) OR COMBINED (IY PLUS AR) INTERVENTION (N = 24) FOR EIGHT WEEKS. AR TREATMENT CONSISTED OF BRAHMI GHRITA, AND IY CONSISTED OF ASANA, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, AND RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, VERBAL FLUENCY, ATTENTION, PROCESSING SPEED, SHORT-TERM AND WORKING MEMORY, AND LEARNING AND VERBAL MEMORY WERE ASSESSED AT THE BASELINE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS. RESULTS: WITHIN-GROUP ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT TIME MAIN EFFECT (P < 0.05) IN ALL COGNITIVE MEASURES IN THE THREE GROUPS (IY, AR, AND IY PLUS AR) EXCEPT DIGIT BACKWARD TEST. BONFERRONI POST HOC TEST SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN PRE TO POST IN ALL VARIABLES. IN THE BETWEEN-GROUP ANALYSIS, THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL GROUP DIFFERENCE FOR REY'S AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST- HITS, F (2,69) = 4.376 (P < 0.016), REY'S AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST-AVERAGE, F (2,69) = 4.727 (0.012), DIGIT BACKWARD TEST, F (2,69) = 5.766 (0.005) AFTER EIGHT WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. CONCLUSION: BOTH AYURVEDA RASAYANA AND INTEGRATED YOGA INTERVENTION WERE FOUND EFFECTIVE IN IMPROVING COGNITIVE ABILITIES AMONG THE ELDERLY WITH MCI. COMBINED AYURVEDA RASAYANA AND YOGA INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED LEARNING, ATTENTION, PROCESSING SPEED, AND WORKING MEMORY COMPARED TO INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE AMONG ELDERLY PERSONS WITH MCI. 2022 5 455 26 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 6 1382 32 IMPACT OF PRAJNA YOGA ON COGNITION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH CONGENITAL AND ADVENTITIOUS VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. CONTEXT: NUMEROUS SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED THE IMPACT OF YOGA ON COGNITION IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS. HOWEVER, FEWER STUDIES HAVE ASSESSED THE IMPACT OF YOGIC PRACTICES ON COGNITION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. DESPITE THEIR KEEN INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES AND ADVANCED LINGUISTIC SKILLS, TEENS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT OFTEN EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES WITH COGNITIVE CONTROL AND BEHAVIORAL REGULATION. MEMORY PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN COGNITION. BESIDES STORING INFORMATION, MEMORY IS ALSO USED FOR RECALL, DEFINED AS THE RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION THE BRAIN HAS RECENTLY BEEN EXPOSED TO, AND RECOGNITION, DEFINED AS THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE OR RETRIEVE THE INFORMATION PREVIOUSLY ENCOUNTERED AND STORED IN THE BRAIN. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY WAS TO OBSERVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRAJNA YOGA ON ENHANCING THE COGNITION AND VERBAL MEMORY IN ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. DEGREE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND AGE OF ONSET OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WERE CONSIDERED WHILE ANALYZING THE STUDY DATA. DESIGN: AN OPEN-TRIAL, SINGLE ARM, PRE-POST STUDY DESIGN WAS ADOPTED. 273 ADOLESCENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WERE ASSESSED ACROSS INDIA USING THE REY AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (RAVLT), AT BASELINE (BEFORE THE INTERVENTION), IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INTERVENTION, AND AT 40 DAYS AFTER THE INTERVENTION. RAVLT MEASURES RECALL AND RECOGNITION THROUGH VERBAL MEMORY. INTERVENTION: PRAJNA YOGA (PY) OR THE ART OF LIVING INTUITION PROGRAM IS A UNIQUE INTERVENTION, BASED ON ANCIENT TECHNIQUES OF PRANAYAMA, SUPER BRAIN YOGA, AND MEDITATION, TAUGHT TO CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS BETWEEN THE AGES 5 AND 17. RESULTS: THE MEAN SCORES FOR RECOGNITION (P=0.011) AND IMMEDIATE RECALL (P=0.011) IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER PY FOR THE ENTIRE STUDY POPULATION, REGARDLESS OF THE DEGREE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, GENDER AND AGE OF ONSET. A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MEAN SCORES FOR DELAYED RECALL WAS SEEN AFTER 40 DAYS OF DAILY PRACTICE (P = 0.007). 2022 7 746 34 EFFECT OF SAHAJ YOGA ON NEURO-COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION. COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE IMPAIRED IN MAJOR DEPRESSION. STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENT IN MEMORY, VIGILANCE AND ANXIETY LEVELS. 30 PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM MAJOR DEPRESSION (AGE 18 TO 45 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS: GROUP 1: (10 MALES AND 5 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO PRACTISED SAHAJ YOGA MEDITATION AND ALSO RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 2: (9 MALES AND 6 FEMALES) PATIENTS WHO ONLY RECEIVED CONVENTIONAL ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION. GROUP 1 PATIENTS WERE ADMINISTERED SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE FOR 8 WEEKS. NEURO-COGNITIVE TEST BATTERY CONSISTING OF LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (LCT), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'A' (TTA), TRAIL MAKING TEST 'B' (TTB), RUFF FIGURAL FLUENCY TEST (RFFT), FORWARD DIGIT SPAN (FDS) & REVERSE DIGIT SPAN TEST (RDS) WAS USED TO ASSESS FOLLOWING COGNITIVE DOMAINS: ATTENTION SPAN, VISUO-MOTOR SPEED, SHORT-TERM MEMORY, WORKING MEMORY AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS. AFTER 8 WEEKS, BOTH GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 SUBJECTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT, TTA & TTB BUT IMPROVEMENT IN LCT WAS MORE MARKED IN GROUP 1 SUBJECTS. ALSO, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN RDS SCORES IN ONLY GROUP 1 SUBJECTS (P < 0.05). THE RESULTS THEREBY, DEMONSTRATE THAT SAHAJ YOGA PRACTICE IN ADDITION TO THE IMPROVEMENT IN VARIOUS OTHER COGNITIVE DOMAINS SEEN WITH CONVENTIONAL ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, CAN LEAD TO ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS LIKE MANIPULATION OF INFORMATION IN THE VERBAL WORKING MEMORY AND ADDED IMPROVEMENT IN ATTENTION SPAN AND VISUO-MOTOR SPEED OF THE DEPRESSIVES. 2006 8 1356 29 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM RELAPSING REMITTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT (CI) IS AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF RELAPSING REMITTING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (RRMS). YOGIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN FOUND USEFUL IN IMPROVING VARIOUS COGNITIVE DOMAINS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. EIGHTEEN SUBJECTS (13 FEMALES) IN THE AGE RANGE OF 51.5 +/- 12.72 YEARS WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF RRMS BY A NEUROLOGIST (MCDONALD CRITERIA 2010) SINCE LAST 18.16 +/- 12.59 YEARS WERE RECRUITED INTO THE STUDY FROM A NEURO-REHABILITATION CENTRE IN GERMANY. ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER TWO RANDOMLY ALLOCATED 30-MIN SESSIONS OF YOGIC RELAXATION: CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) AND SR (SUPINE REST OR SHAVASANA). ASSESSMENTS WERE DONE FOR ATTENTION, PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE, INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS, AND IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED RECALL USING STANDARD PSYCHOMETRIC TOOLS. RMANOVA WAS APPLIED TO ANALYSE THE DATA USING SPSS VERSION 10. BOTH CM AND SR SESSIONS IMPROVED SCORES ON DIGIT SYMBOL SUBSTITUTION TEST (DSST) (P < 0.01) AND AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (AVLT) (P < 0.05). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER PERFORMANCE IN TRAIL MAKING TEST (TMT)-A AND FORWARD DIGIT SPAN (FDS) AFTER CM AS COMPARED TO SR (P < 0.01). YOGIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUES MAY HAVE AN IMMEDIATE ENHANCING EFFECT ON PROCESSING SPEED, PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE, AND RECALL OF RRMS PATIENTS. CM IS BETTER THAN SR IN IMPROVING PROCESSING SPEED, SHORT-TERM MEMORY, AND VERBAL WORKING MEMORY. 2016 9 818 38 EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS IN CLIMACTERIC SYNDROME: A RANDOMISED CONTROL STUDY. OBJECTIVE: TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY (IAYT) ON COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN CLIMACTERIC SYNDROME. DESIGN: A RANDOMISED CONTROL STUDY WHEREIN THE PARTICIPANTS WERE DIVIDED INTO EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS. SETTINGS: FOURTEEN CENTRES OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA YOGA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, BANGALORE, INDIA. SAMPLE: ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN BETWEEN 40 AND 55 YEARS WITH FOLLICLE-STIMULATING HORMONE LEVEL EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 15 MIU/ML. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ALLOTTED INTO THE YOGA AND THE CONTROL GROUPS. METHODS: THE YOGA GROUP PRACTISED A MODULE COMPRISING BREATHING PRACTICES, SUN SALUTATION AND CYCLIC MEDITATION, WHEREAS THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTISED A SET OF SIMPLE PHYSICAL EXERCISES, UNDER SUPERVISION (1 HOUR/DAY, 5 DAYS/WEEK FOR 8 WEEKS). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ASSESSMENTS WERE MADE BY VASOMOTOR SYMPTOM CHECKLIST, SIX-LETTER CANCELLATION TEST (SLCT) FOR ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION AND PUNIT GOVIL INTELLIGENCE MEMORY SCALE (PGIMS) WITH TEN SUBTESTS. RESULTS: THE WILCOXON TEST SHOWED SIGNIFICANT (P < 0.001) REDUCTION IN HOT FLUSHES, NIGHT SWEATS AND SLEEP DISTURBANCE IN YOGA GROUP, WITH A TREND OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GROUPS AT P = 0.06 ON MANN-WHITNEY TEST IN NIGHT SWEATS. THERE WAS NO CHANGE WITHIN OR BETWEEN GROUPS IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THE SLCT SCORE AND THE PGIMS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN EIGHT OF TEN SUBTESTS IN THE YOGA GROUP AND SIX OF TEN SUBTESTS IN THE CONTROL GROUP. THE YOGA GROUP PERFORMED SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER (P < 0.001) WITH HIGHER EFFECT SIZES IN SLCT AND SEVEN TESTS OF PGIMS COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: INTEGRATED APPROACH OF YOGA THERAPY CAN IMPROVE HOT FLUSHES AND NIGHT SWEATS. IT ALSO CAN IMPROVE COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS SUCH AS REMOTE MEMORY, MENTAL BALANCE, ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION, DELAYED AND IMMEDIATE RECALL, VERBAL RETENTION AND RECOGNITION TESTS. 2008 10 165 34 A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL OF THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN NORMAL HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS. OBJECTIVE: TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF YOGA ON VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN NORMAL HEALTHY ADULTS. METHODS: OF THE 1228 PERSONS WHO ATTENDED INTRODUCTORY LECTURES, 226 SUBJECTS OF BOTH SEXES WHO SATISFIED THE INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA AND WHO CONSENTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED INTO TWO GROUPS. THESE 226 SUBJECTS WERE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 17 AND 62 YEARS AND 173/226 COMPLETED THE EIGHT WEEKS OF INTERVENTION. THE YOGA (Y) GROUP PRACTISED AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE THAT INCLUDED ASANAS, PRANAYAMA, MEDITATION, NOTIONAL CORRECTION, AND DEVOTIONAL SESSIONS. THE CONTROL GROUP PRACTISED MILD TO MODERATE PHYSICAL EXERCISES (PE). BOTH GROUPS HAD SUPERVISED PRACTICES (BY TRAINED EXPERTS) FOR ONE HOUR DAILY, SIX DAYS A WEEK FOR EIGHT WEEKS. VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER EIGHT WEEKS USING THE SELF-ADMINISTERED VERBAL AGGRESSIVE SCALE. RESULTS: THE BASELINE SCORE OF THE TWO GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.66). THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (P = 0.01 PAIRED SAMPLES T-TEST) WITH A NONSIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PE GROUP. ANCOVA USING PRE- VALUES AS COVARIATES SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS (P = 0.013). RMANOVA FOR INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SEXES OR AGE GROUPS IN CHANGE SCORES WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT. CONCLUSIONS: THIS STUDY HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT AN EIGHT WEEK INTERVENTION OF AN INTEGRATED YOGA MODULE DECREASED VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS IN THE YOGA GROUP (IN MALES AND THOSE BELOW 25 YEARS OF AGE), WITH A NONSIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PE GROUP. 2008 11 817 33 EFFECT OF YOGA ON COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM A SOCIOECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUND: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. OBJECTIVE: THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF YOGA, COMPARED TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON THE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN 7-9 YEAR-OLD SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM A SOCIOECONOMIC DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUND. DESIGN: TWO HUNDRED (200) SCHOOLCHILDREN FROM BANGALORE, INDIA, AFTER BASELINE ASSESSMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING WERE RANDOMLY ALLOCATED TO EITHER A YOGA OR A PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY GROUP. COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS (ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION, VISUO-SPATIAL ABILITIES, VERBAL ABILITY, AND ABSTRACT THINKING) WERE ASSESSED USING AN INDIAN ADAPTATION OF THE WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN AT BASELINE, AFTER 3 MONTHS OF INTERVENTION, AND LATER AT A 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. RESULTS: OF THE 200 SUBJECTS, 193 WERE ASSESSED AT 3 MONTHS AFTER THE STUDY, AND THEN 180 WERE ASSESSED AT THE 3-MONTH FOLLOW-UP. THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE BETWEEN THE TWO STUDY GROUPS (YOGA VERSUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY) AT POSTINTERVENTION, AFTER CONTROLLING FOR GRADE LEVELS. IMPROVEMENT IN THE MEAN SCORES OF COGNITIVE TESTS FOLLOWING INTERVENTION VARIED FROM 0.5 (ARITHMETIC) TO 1.4 (CODING) FOR THE YOGA GROUP AND 0.7 (ARITHMETIC) TO 1.6 (VOCABULARY) IN THE PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY GROUP. CONCLUSIONS: YOGA WAS AS EFFECTIVE AS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN IMPROVING COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN 7-9 YEAR OLD SCHOOLCHILDREN. FURTHER STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO EXAMINE THE DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOGA AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE. 2012 12 1357 33 IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER-CANCELLATION TASK. THE PERFORMANCE IN A SIX-LETTER CANCELLATION TASK WAS ASSESSED WITH 69 MALE VOLUNTEERS, AGES 18 TO 48 YEARS, IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES AND A CONTROL SESSION OF EQUAL DURATION. THE TECHNIQUES WERE CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST. CYCLIC MEDITATION CONSISTS OF ALTERNATING CYCLES OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST. AFTER BOTH PRACTICES, THE NET SCORES WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER, ALTHOUGH THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION THAN AFTER SUPINE REST (24.9% VERSUS 13.6%). THERE WAS REDUCTION IN SCORES FOR WRONG CANCELLATIONS AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION AND NOT AFTER SUPINE REST. THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO CHANGE. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT CYCLIC MEDITATION BRINGS ABOUT A GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE IN THIS TASK, WHICH REQUIRES SELECTIVE ATTENTION, CONCENTRATION, VISUAL SCANNING ABILITIES, AND A REPETITIVE MOTOR RESPONSE. 2007 13 2878 22 YOGA-TEACHING PROTOCOL ADAPTED FOR CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. CONTEXT: CHILDHOOD VISUAL DEFICIENCY IMPAIRS CHILDREN'S NEURO-PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT, CONSIDERABLY AFFECTING PHYSICAL, MENTAL, SOCIAL, AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. YOGA'S MULTIFACETED APPROACH MAY HELP CHILDREN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT (VI) TO COPE WITH THEIR CHALLENGES. AIM: THIS STUDY AIMED TO DEVELOP A SPECIAL PROTOCOL FOR TEACHING YOGA TO CHILDREN WITH VI, AND TO EVALUATE THEIR PREFERRED METHOD OF LEARNING. METHODS: THE STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT AT RAMANA MAHARISHI ACADEMY FOR THE BLIND, BENGALURU, SOUTH INDIA. FORTY-ONE STUDENTS VOLUNTEERED TO LEARN YOGA PRACTICES, AND CLASSES WERE HELD WEEKLY 5 DAYS, 1 HR PER SESSION FOR 16 WEEKS. THE STUDY INTRODUCED A NEW METHOD USING A SEQUENCE OF FIVE TEACHING STEPS: VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS, TACTILE MODELING, STEP-BY-STEP TEACHING, LEARNING IN A GROUP, AND PHYSICAL GUIDANCE. A QUESTIONNAIRE CONCERNING THE PREFERRED STEPS OF LEARNING WAS THEN GIVEN TO EACH STUDENT, AND VERBAL ANSWERS WERE OBTAINED. RESULTS: A TOTAL OF 33 (OUT OF 41), AGED 11.97 +/- 1.94, 15 GIRLS AND 18 BOYS RESPONDED. TWENTY-SIX (78.79%) CHOSE PHYSICAL GUIDANCE AS THEIR MOST FAVORED LEARNING MODE. CONCLUSIONS: SPECIALLY DESIGNED PROTOCOL MAY PAVE THE WAY TO IMPART YOGA IN AN EXCITING AND COMFORTABLE WAY TO CHILDREN WITH VI. MORE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS NEW YOGA PROTOCOL IN SIMILAR SETTINGS. 2016 14 1423 28 IMPROVEMENT IN NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTIONS AND SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION TREATED WITH ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND YOGA. CONTEXT AND AIMS: IMPAIRMENT IN COGNITION IS WELL-KNOWN IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER. THIS STUDY EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF YOGA THERAPY WITH OR WITHOUT ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND ANTIDEPRESSANTS ALONE ON CERTAIN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION. CORRELATION BETWEEN CHANGES IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST PERFORMANCE AND SERUM BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR (BDNF) LEVELS WAS ALSO EXPLORED. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ANTIDEPRESSANT-NAIVE/ANTIDEPRESSANT-FREE OUTPATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION RECEIVED ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATION ALONE (N = 23) OR YOGA THERAPY WITH (N = 26) OR WITHOUT (N = 16) ANTIDEPRESSANTS. DEPRESSION WAS ASSESSED USING THE HAMILTON DEPRESSION RATING SCALE. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS INCLUDED DIGIT-SPAN FORWARD AND BACKWARD, REY AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST, AND TRAIL MAKING TESTS (TMT-A AND B). THESE TESTS WERE ADMINISTERED BEFORE AND 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TREATMENT IN PATIENTS, AND ONCE IN HEALTHY COMPARISON SUBJECTS (N = 19). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: BASELINE DIFFERENCES WERE ANALYZED USING INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST, CHI-SQUARE, AND ONE-WAY ANOVA. PAIRED T-TEST WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE CHANGE FROM BASELINE TO FOLLOW-UP. PEARSON'S CORRELATION WAS USED TO EXPLORE THE ASSOCIATION OF CHANGE BETWEEN 2 VARIABLES. RESULTS: PATIENTS HAD IMPAIRED PERFORMANCE ON MOST NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS. AFTER 3 MONTHS, THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT - PATIENTS' PERFORMANCE WAS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF HEALTHY CONTROLS ON MAJORITY OF THE TESTS. SIGNIFICANT INVERSE CORRELATION WAS OBSERVED BETWEEN INCREASE IN BDNF LEVELS AND IMPROVEMENT IN TMT "A" DURATION IN YOGA-ALONE GROUP (R = -0.647; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: TO CONCLUDE THAT, YOGA THERAPY, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH MEDICATIONS, IS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS AND NEUROPLASTIC EFFECTS IN PATIENTS WITH DEPRESSION. 2018 15 778 22 EFFECT OF YOGA AND WORKING MEMORY TRAINING ON COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIVE ABILITIES AMONG MIDDLE AGED ADULTS. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIVE ABILITIES WITH WORKING MEMORY TRAINING AND ALTERNATIVE THERAPEUTIC METHODS CONDUCTED SEPARATELY. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF COMBINING YOGA AND WORKING MEMORY TRAINING AMONG HEALTHY MIDDLE AGED ADULTS. A TOTAL OF 45 PARTICIPANTS WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO THREE GROUPS. GROUP 1 RECEIVED BOTH YOGA AND WORKING MEMORY TRAINING, GROUP 2 RECEIVED ONLY WORKING MEMORY TRAINING AND GROUP 3 SERVED AS THE CONTROL GROUP. WORKING MEMORY TRAINING WAS PROVIDED ON SIX TASKS. YOGA TRAINING INVOLVED PRANAYAMAS AND MUDRAS. EFFECTS OF TRAINING WERE ASSESSED ALONG WITH THE SELF-PERCEPTUAL RATING OF THE PARTICIPANTS TOWARDS TRAINING. RESULTS REVEAL GREATER TRAINING EFFECTS AMONG GROUP 1 PARTICIPANTS, FOLLOWED BY GROUP 2 AND GROUP 3. GROUP 1 ALSO REPORTED BETTER PERCEPTION OF TRAINING (P < 0.05) THAN GROUP 2. THE STUDY HIGHLIGHTS THAT YOGA IS NOT ONLY AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH, BUT ALSO AUGMENTATIVE IN IMPROVING COGNITIVE COMMUNICATIVE ABILITIES. 2017 16 768 35 EFFECT OF TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON MEMORY SCORES AND STATE ANXIETY. BACKGROUND: A YOGA PRACTICE INVOLVING CYCLES OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST (CALLED CYCLIC MEDITATION) WAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN ATTENTION TASKS MORE THAN RELAXATION IN THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA). THIS WAS ASCRIBED TO REDUCED ANXIETY, THOUGH THIS WAS NOT ASSESSED. METHODS: IN FIFTY-SEVEN MALE VOLUNTEERS (GROUP AVERAGE AGE +/- S.D., 26.6 +/- 4.5 YEARS) THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF TWO YOGA RELAXATION TECHNIQUES WAS STUDIED ON MEMORY AND STATE ANXIETY. ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER (I) CYCLIC MEDITATION (CM) PRACTICED FOR 22:30 MINUTES ON ONE DAY AND (II) AN EQUAL DURATION OF SUPINE REST (SR) OR THE CORPSE POSTURE (SHAVASANA), ON ANOTHER DAY. SECTIONS OF THE WECHSLER MEMORY SCALE (WMS) WERE USED TO ASSESS; (I) ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION (DIGIT SPAN FORWARD AND BACKWARD), AND (II) ASSOCIATE LEARNING. STATE ANXIETY WAS ASSESSED USING SPIELBERGER'S STATE-TRAIT ANXIETY INVENTORY (STAI). RESULTS: THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE SCORES OF ALL SECTIONS OF THE WMS STUDIED AFTER BOTH CM AND SR, BUT, THE MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE WAS MORE AFTER CM COMPARED TO AFTER SR. THE STATE ANXIETY SCORES DECREASED AFTER BOTH CM AND SR, WITH A GREATER MAGNITUDE OF DECREASE AFTER CM. THERE WAS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN MEMORY SCORES AND STATE ANXIETY FOR EITHER SESSION. CONCLUSION: A CYCLICAL COMBINATION OF YOGA POSTURES AND SUPINE REST IN CM IMPROVED MEMORY SCORES IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PRACTICE AND DECREASED STATE ANXIETY MORE THAN REST IN A CLASSICAL YOGA RELAXATION POSTURE (SHAVASANA). 2009 17 2358 28 VERBAL CUING IS NOT THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT. PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF A 10-SESSION HATHA YOGA PRACTICE. VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED DURING YOGA CLASSES CAN DIFFER SUBSTANTIALLY. YOGA INSTRUCTORS MIGHT CHOOSE TO FOCUS ON THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF YOGA (E.G., BY EMPHASIZING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POSES), OR THEY MIGHT TAKE A MORE SPIRITUAL APPROACH (E.G., BY MENTIONING ENERGY FLOW AND CHAKRAS). THE PRESENT STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF VERBAL CUES DURING YOGA PRACTICE ON VARIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES. EIGHTY-FOUR FEMALE STUDENTS (22.0 +/- 3.80 YEARS) PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY. TWO GROUPS ATTENDED A BEGINNER LEVEL HATHA YOGA COURSE IN WHICH PHYSICALLY IDENTICAL EXERCISE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY DIFFERENT VERBAL CUES. THE SO-CALLED "SPORT GROUP" (N = 27) RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS REFERRING PRIMARILY TO THE PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF YOGA PRACTICE, WHILE THE "SPIRITUAL GROUP" (N = 23) WAS ADDITIONALLY PROVIDED WITH PHILOSOPHICAL AND SPIRITUAL INFORMATION. A CONTROL GROUP (N = 34) DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INTERVENTION. MINDFULNESS, BODY AWARENESS, SPIRITUALITY, AND AFFECT WERE ASSESSED 1 WEEK BEFORE AND AFTER THE TRAINING. 2 X 3 MIXED (TIME X INTERVENTION) ANOVAS DID NOT SHOW AN INTERACTION EFFECT FOR ANY OF THE VARIABLES. HOWEVER, WHEN THE TWO YOGA GROUPS WERE MERGED AND COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP, WE FOUND THAT SPIRITUALITY INCREASED, AND NEGATIVE AFFECT DECREASED AMONG YOGA PARTICIPANTS. IN CONCLUSION, YOGA PRACTICE MIGHT INFLUENCE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING THROUGH ITS PHYSICAL COMPONENTS, INDEPENDENT OF THE STYLE OF VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED. 2020 18 1728 31 PERFORMANCE ON PSYCHOMOTOR TASKS FOLLOWING TWO YOGA-BASED RELAXATION TECHNIQUES. PREVIOUSLY CYCLIC MEDITATION AND SUPINE REST HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN A LETTER CANCELLATION TASK REQUIRING ATTENTION, VISUAL SCANNING, AND MOTOR SPEED. THE PRESENT STUDY ASSESSED THE PERFORMANCE IN 57 VOLUNTEERS (ALL MALE, M AGE = 26.5 YR., SD = 4.6) IN THREE TASKS, VIZ., A DIGIT-LETTER SUBSTITUTION TASK (DLST), A LETTER-COPYING TASK, AND A CIRCLE-DOTTING TASK. THE DLST ASSESSED ATTENTION AND SPEED OF INFORMATION PROCESSING, WHILE THE OTHER 2 TESTS ASSESSED MOTOR SPEED. EACH PARTICIPANT WAS ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THREE TYPES OF SESSIONS: CYCLIC MEDITATION, SUPINE REST, AND CONTROL (NO INTERVENTION). DLST SCORES AND SCORES FOR LETTER-COPYING AND CIRCLE-DOTTING TASKS IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION; THE SAME SCORES ALSO IMPROVED AFTER SUPINE REST. THERE WAS NO CHANGE AFTER THE NO-INTERVENTION/CONTROL SESSION. FROM THE RESULTS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO CONCLUDE WHETHER IMPROVED DLST SCORES AFTER CYCLIC MEDITATION WERE DUE TO BETTER INFORMATION PROCESSING SPEED OR IMPROVED MOTOR SPEED. 2009 19 946 31 EFFECTS OF A 12-WEEKS YOGA INTERVENTION ON MOTOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD IS REGARDED AS AN IMPORTANT PERIOD OF MOTOR AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT, UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON MOTOR ABILITES AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN HAS MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS. THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES THE EFFECTS OF A 12 WEEKS' YOGA INTERVENTION PROGRAM ON MOTOR AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN. PRESCHOOL CHILDREN (N = 45; AGE 5-6 YEARS) ATTENDING REGULAR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS WERE NON-RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA INTERVENTION (N = 23; 30 MIN SESSIONS THREE TIMES PER WEEK) OR A CONTROL GROUP (N = 22; NO ADDITIONAL ORGANIZED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAM). EXERCISE TRAINING FOR THE INTERVENTION GROUP INCLUDED YOGA PROGRAM. MOTOR ABILITIES (BOT-2 SUBTESTS: FINE MOTOR INTEGRATION, MANUAL DEXTERITY, BALANCE AND BILATERAL COORDINATION), AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES (SCHOOL MATURITY TEST SUBTESTS: VISUAL MEMORY, STACKING CUBES AND CODES) WERE ASSESSED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION PERIOD IN BOTH GROUPS. DATA WERE ANALYZED USING REPEATED-MEASURES ANOVA. PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERVENTION GROUP IMPROVED FINE MOTOR INTEGRATION (P = 0.022), FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN GENERAL (0.029), BILATERAL COORDINATION (0.000), BALANCE (0.000), AND BODY COORDINATION (0.000). PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE PRESCHOOL YOGA INTERVENTION SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THEIR MOTOR ABILITIES, BUT NOT THEIR COGNITIVE ABILITIES. 2021 20 562 26 CREATIVE YOGA INTERVENTION IMPROVES MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. BACKGROUND: THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE FOR MOTOR IMPAIRMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD), INCLUDING POOR GROSS AND FINE MOTOR PERFORMANCE, POOR BALANCE, AND INCOORDINATION. HOWEVER, THERE IS LIMITED EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTS OF MOTOR INTERVENTIONS FOR THIS POPULATION. OBJECTIVE: IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE EFFECTS OF A PHYSICAL THERAPY INTERVENTION USING CREATIVE YOGA ON THE MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD WERE EVALUATED. DESIGN: THIS STUDY HAD A PRETEST-POSTTEST CONTROL GROUP DESIGN. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR CHILDREN WITH ASD AGED BETWEEN 5 AND 13 YEARS RECEIVED 8 WEEKS OF A PHYSICAL THERAPIST-DELIVERED YOGA OR ACADEMIC INTERVENTION. CHILDREN WERE TESTED BEFORE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION USING A STANDARDIZED MOTOR MEASURE, THE BRUININKS-OSERETSKY TEST OF MOTOR PERFORMANCE-2ND EDITION (BOT-2). THE IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN USING FAMILIAR TRAINING-SPECIFIC ACTIONS (IE, POSES FOR THE YOGA GROUP AND BUILDING ACTIONS FOR THE ACADEMIC GROUP) WERE ALSO ASSESSED. RESULTS: AFTER THE INTERVENTION, CHILDREN IN THE YOGA GROUP IMPROVED GROSS MOTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE BOT-2 AND DISPLAYED FEWER IMITATION/PRAXIS ERRORS WHEN COPYING TRAINING-SPECIFIC YOGA POSES. IN CONTRAST, CHILDREN IN THE ACADEMIC GROUP IMPROVED THEIR FINE MOTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE BOT-2 AND PERFORMED FEWER IMITATION ERRORS WHILE COMPLETING THE TRAINING-SPECIFIC BUILDING ACTIONS. LIMITATIONS: THE STUDY LIMITATIONS INCLUDE SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND LACK OF LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP. CONCLUSIONS: OVERALL, CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS, SUCH AS YOGA, ARE PROMISING TOOLS FOR ENHANCING THE MOTOR AND IMITATION SKILLS OF CHILDREN WITH ASD. 2019