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HOW YOGA CAN CHANGE YOUR BRAIN Presenter: Praveen Angadi

Chair: Dr Malla Bhaskara RaoDate: 20-12-2019

GENERAL INFORMATION

▰ AUTHOR: Emma Lymn

▰ SOURCE: Yoga Medicine Newsletter, USA

▰ PUBLISHED: 25th April 2019

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YOGA COMPONENTS

▰ Postures

▰ Pranayama

▰ Meditation

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YOGA IMPACT ON BRAIN

▰ Long-term meditation: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter (Luders et al, 2009)

▰ Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness (Lazar et al, 2005)

▰ Cortical thickness and pain sensitivity in zen meditators(Grant JA et al, 2010)

▰ Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem (Vestergaard-Poulsen P et al, 2009) 5

A FEW EXAMPLES INCLUDE

▰ Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers (Eleanor A. Maguire et al, 2000)

▰ London taxi drivers and bus drivers: a structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis (Maguire EA, Woollett K & Spiers HJ,

2006)

▰ Gray Matter Differences between Musicians and Non-musicians- In motor & Auditory visuospatial brain regions(Christian Gaser, Gottfried Schlau 2006)

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WHY DOES YOUR BRAIN HAVE FOLDED TISSUE?

▰ IT INCREASES THE

FOLDS IN YOUR BRAIN

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IT LETS YOU RELAX MORE BY REDUCING STRESS AND ANXIETY

▰ Frontal Lobe

▰ Parietal Lobe

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YOGA AND RELAXATION

▰ Yoga Asana sessions increase brain GABA levels: a pilot study (Streeter CC et al, 2007)

▰ Effects of yoga versus walking on mood, anxiety, and brain GABA levels: a randomized controlled MRS study (Streeter CC et al, 2010)

▰ Cortisol and antidepressant effects of yoga (J. Thirthalli et al, 2013)

▰ Meditation and yoga practice are associated with smaller right amygdala volume: the Rotterdam study (Rinske A

▰ et al, 2018)9

YOGA AND STRESS REDUCTION & ANXIETY

▰ Happiness Hormones- dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins

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THE NEUROSCIENCE OF MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

GENERAL INFORMATION

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JOURNAL: Nature Reviews

AUTHOR: Yi-Yuan Tang, Britta K. Hölzel, & Michael I. Posner

YEAR: 2015

IMPACT FACTOR: 20.257

INTRODUCTION

CHANGES IN BRAIN STRUCTURE

21 studies in a decade

Grey & White matter volume

Cortical thickness

Types of mindfulness meditation & multiple regions in the brain

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MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

▰ Vipassana meditation

▰ Dzogchen

▰ Zen

▰ Integrative Body–Mind Training (IBMT)

▰ Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

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MINDFUNESS MEDITATION STAGES 15

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION OUTCOMES

▰ Enhanced attention control

▰ Improved emotion regulation

▰ Altered self-awareness (diminished self-referential processing and enhanced body awareness)

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BRAIN STRUCTURES INVOLVED DURING MEDITATION 17

MEDITATION REFLECTING IN BRAIN AREAS

▰ ATTENTION CONTROL- Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and the Striatum

▰ EMOTION REGULATION- 1) Multiple Prefrontal regions 2) Limbic regions and the 3) Striatum

▰ SELF-AWARENESS- 1) Insula 2) Medial Prefrontal Cortex 3) Posterior Cingulate Cortex and 4) Precuneus

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BRAIN TRUCTURE- ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (ACC)

▰ Functions:

1) Empathy

2) Impulse control

3) Emotion

4) Decision-making

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▰ Planning

▰ Personality development

▰ Emotions

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BRAIN TRUCTURE- PREFRONTAL CORTEX (PFC)

▰ Emotion formation & processing

▰ Learning

▰ Memory

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BRAIN TRUCTURE- POSTRIOR CINGULATE CORTEX (PCC)

▰ Pain perception

▰ Social engagement

▰ Empathy

▰ Emotions

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BRAIN TRUCTURE- INSULA

▰ Facilitating voluntary movement

▰ Multiple aspects of cognition

▰ Including both motor and action planning

▰ Decision-making

▰ Motivation

▰ Reinforcement

▰ Reward perception23

BRAIN TRUCTURE- STRIATUM

▰ Emotions

▰ Survival instinct

▰ Memory

▰ Sexual activity and libido or Sex drive

▰ Flight or Fight

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BRAIN TRUCTURE- AMYGDALA

BRAIN TRUCTURE- HIPPOCAMPUS

▰ Motivation

▰ Emotions

▰ Learning

▰ Navigation

▰ Memory

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MINDFULNESS MEDITATION & STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN 27

RESULTS

RESULTS

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RESULTS

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION & STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN

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RESULTS

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION & STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN

RESULTS

30Mindfulness meditation & changes in the core brain regions

Mindfulness meditation & changes in the core brain regions 31

RESULTS

FINAL THOUGHTS

▰ Is Yoga limited to PHYSICAL?

▰ Structural changes in the Brain

▰ Cognition

▰ Emotions

▰ Stress

▰ Anxiety

▰ Healthy & Happy Life 32

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