The Effects of Yoga on Brain GABA Levels

描述（由申请人提供）：随着补充和替代医学（CAM）技术（如瑜伽）的使用增加，重要的是阐明瑜伽发挥其有益健康作用的机制。这项研究评估了为期12周的瑜伽干预对大脑主要抑制性神经递质γ氨基丁酸（GABA）水平的影响，使用磁共振波谱（MRS）。使用MRS，GABA水平已被证明在抑郁症，焦虑症，癫痫，可卡因依赖和酒精依赖的受试者中较低。所有这些疾病都用已知增加GABA系统活性的药物治疗。对照研究表明，瑜伽练习也可以减少抑郁症，焦虑症和癫痫症的症状。在之前的一项使用MRS的研究中，经验丰富的瑜伽练习者在60分钟的瑜伽课程后大脑GABA水平增加了27%，而对照组在60分钟的阅读课程后大脑GABA水平增加了0.001%。这表明瑜伽可以增加大脑GABA水平，因此应该探索作为大脑GABA水平低的疾病的治疗干预。本申请提出了一项纵向研究，将60名受试者随机分为瑜伽组或阅读组。每个小组将参加为期12周的干预，包括每周三次60分钟的艾扬格瑜伽或阅读，最多36次干预。情绪量表将在每次会议开始和结束时收集。受试者还将参加三次成像，包括情绪量表，然后在以下时间进行MRS扫描：随机化前基线时的扫描1;瑜伽或阅读干预12周后的扫描2;扫描2后约1小时的扫描3，在此期间，受试者将参加60分钟的瑜伽或阅读课程，具体取决于分组。本研究将探讨以下假设：1）在扫描1时，瑜伽组和阅读组之间的基线GABA水平没有差异; 2）瑜伽组将比阅读组表现出大脑GABA水平从基线的更大增加（扫描2 -扫描1）; 3）与阅读组相比，瑜伽组在内扫描干预后将表现出更大的GABA水平的急性增加（扫描3 -扫描2）; 4和5）与阅读组相比，瑜伽组在12周的干预过程中，治疗前和治疗后的情绪量表将显示出更大的情绪改善; 6）情绪量表的急性变化（Post-Pre）在瑜伽组比阅读组更大; 7）情绪状态的改善和大脑GABA水平的增加将呈正相关。 公共卫生相关性：与低大脑GABA状态相关的疾病，如抑郁和焦虑，每年花费美国数十亿美元的治疗费用和生产力损失，更不用说个人的个人成本了。这项研究将检验瑜伽练习显着增加大脑GABA水平的假设。如果得到证实，这将表明探索瑜伽作为低GABA状态治疗的功效的风险-受益比是极好的，因为瑜伽的练习促进了整体健康，如果正确练习，副作用很少，并且没有继发性依赖的风险，这经常发生在一些药物治疗中。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): As use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) techniques such as yoga increases, it is important that the mechanisms through which yoga exerts its salubrious effects are elucidated. This study assesses the effects of a 12-week yoga intervention on the level of the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter, gamma amino-butyric acid (GABA), using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Using MRS, GABA levels have been shown to be low in subjects with depression, anxiety, epilepsy, cocaine dependence, and alcohol dependence. All of these disorders are treated with pharmacologic agents known to increase the activity of the GABA system. Controlled studies have shown that the practice of yoga also decreases symptoms in depression, anxiety, and epilepsy. In a previous study using MRS, experienced yoga practitioners demonstrated a 27% increase in brain GABA levels following a 60-minute yoga session in contrast with a .001% change found in controls after a 60-minute reading session. This suggests that yoga increases brain GABA levels, and should therefore be explored as a therapeutic intervention in disorders in which brain GABA levels are low. This application proposes a longitudinal study of 60 subjects that will be randomized into a yoga group or a reading group. Each group will participate in a 12-week intervention that will be composed of 60- minutes of Iyengar yoga or reading three times a week for a maximum of 36 interventions. Mood scales will be collected at the beginning and end of each session. Individuals will also participate in three imaging sessions comprised of mood scales followed by a MRS scan at the following times: Scan 1 at baseline prior to randomization; Scan 2 after 12-weeks of either a yoga or reading intervention; Scan 3 approximately one hour after Scan 2 during which time subjects will participate in either a 60-minute yoga or reading session depending on the group assignment. This study will explore the following hypotheses: 1) There will be no difference in baseline GABA levels at Scan 1 between the yoga group and the reading group; 2) The yoga group will exhibit a greater increase in brain GABA levels from baseline than the reading group (Scan 2 - Scan 1); 3) The yoga group will exhibit a greater acute increase in GABA levels after the intrascan intervention than the reading group (Scan 3 - Scan 2); 4&5) Pre and Post session mood scales will show greater improvement in mood over the course of the 12-week intervention in the yoga group compared to the reading group; 6) Acute changes in mood scales (Post-Pre) will be greater in the yoga group compared to the reading group; 7) Improvement in mood states and increases in brain GABA levels will be positively correlated. Public Health Relevance: Disorders associated with low brain GABA states such as depression, and anxiety, cost the U.S billions of dollars each year in treatment costs and loss of productivity, not to mention the personal costs to the individual. This study will test the hypothesis that the practice of yoga significantly increases brain GABA levels. If confirmed this would suggest that the risk-to-benefit ratio of exploring the efficacy of yoga as a treatment for low GABA states is excellent, in that the practice of yoga promotes general health, has few side effects if practiced correctly and has no risk of secondary dependencies, which often occur with some pharmacologic treatments.