Yoga and Brain Aging
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 发起方
- 入组人数
- 11
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Change from Baseline Gray Matter Volume in Bilateral Hippocampi and Posterior Cingulate Cortex at 10-12 weeks
研究概览
简要总结
This randomized-control trial pilot study investigates the potential neuroprotective effects of mindfulness-based interventions in older adults. In this study, the researchers examine the effects of Kundalini yoga on neurotypical brain aging with a focus on volumetric changes in the bilateral hippocampi and posterior cingulate cortex. 14 healthy, meditation-naïve participants (ages 60 to 80) were recruited. Half were randomly assigned to the Kundalini yoga group and half to the psychoeducation group. Overall, three participants withdrew from the study. The yoga intervention lasted for 12 weeks and the psychoeducation intervention lasted for 10 weeks. Structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data were obtained at baseline and 12-week follow-up. The researchers will focus on analyzing structural MRI data, examining gray matter volume within a priori regions of interest (bilateral hippocampi and posterior cingulate cortex). Results from this pilot study are intended to provide effect-size estimates for future studies that would confirm the effects of Kundalini yoga on neurological aging. Researchers predict participation in the Kundalini yoga intervention, compared to the psychoeducation control condition, will result in a greater increase in gray matter volume of the bilateral hippocampi and posterior cingulate cortex from pre- to post-intervention. If the results are positive, this would provide initial neurobiological support for Kundalini yoga as a potential means to mitigate the effects of neurological aging and as a preventive measure for Alzheimer's disease and dementia, which could be assessed in future confirmatory clinical trials.
详细描述
Recruitment:
Participants were recruited from the Douglas Hospital as well as from the broader community through the use of an advertisement in The Gazzette and Le Devoir newspapers. Participants were pre-screened to ensure they were eligible for the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. This screening process included a cognitive assessment as well as having participants lie in a mock scanner to assess their level of comfort and ability to complete the neuroimaging scans required for the study. If anyone was unable to comfortably lie in the mock scanner, then they were still given the option to participate in the program, but not as a research participant. A total of 14 participants were recruited for the study.
Intervention Groups:
Participants were evenly and randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was the Kundalini yoga group while the other was a psychoeducation program (which acted as the control group). All seven participants in the Kundalini yoga group completed the study while only four participants in the psychoeducation group completed the study (i.e. three participants withdrew from the study). Participants were between the ages of 60 to 80 years old with no prior meditation experience and were relatively healthy with a baseline Mini-Mental State Examination score of 28-30. Participants were matched across groups for gender, age, and years of education. The study lasted about 12 weeks for participants in the Kundalini yoga group and about 10 weeks for those in the control group. The discrepancy in program length was the result of scheduling complications. Each condition had weekly, two-hour, group-based sessions that were led by a trained interventionist. The Kundalini yoga group exercises were customized for participants to ensure safety and are a mixture of postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. Additionally, participants were encouraged to do practice exercises at-home for half an hour a day. They were asked to report on the extent of their at-home practices. The control group consisted of a psychoeducation program where participants were taught about memory and healthy aging. Participants in this group were also encouraged to do at home tasks for about half an hour a day.
Data Collection:
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Prevention
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 60 Years 至 80 Years（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Neurologically Healthy
- •Between ages 60-80 years old
- •Little to no meditation experience
排除标准
- •Any neurological or psychiatric disorder or a family history of such disorders
- •Uncomfortable or unable to undergo MRI scanning
- •Diabetes, or a cardiovascular or respiratory illness
- •Regular alcohol or tobacco consumption
结局指标
主要结局
Change from Baseline Gray Matter Volume in Bilateral Hippocampi and Posterior Cingulate Cortex at 10-12 weeks
时间窗: Structural neuroimaging scans were taken at baseline (0 weeks) and post-intervention (10 to 12 weeks, 10 weeks for the control group and 12 weeks for the Kundalini Yoga intervention group).
Participants were placed in an MRI machine to conduct structural imaging scans to determine the potential impact of the intervention on gray matter volume in bilateral hippocampi and posterior cingulate cortex of participants after the intervention (10-12 weeks from baseline; 10 weeks for the psychoeducation control group and 12 weeks for the Kundalini yoga intervention. Discrepancy in intervention durations was a result of scheduling conflicts).Voxel-Based Morphometry was used to analyze structural images.
次要结局
- Change from Baseline Functional Connectivity in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex at 10-12-weeks.(Functional neuroimaging scans were taken at baseline (0 weeks) and post-intervention (10-12 weeks; 10 weeks for the psychoeducation control group and 12 weeks for the Kundalini yoga intervention).)
研究者
Soham Rej MD, MSc
MD, MSc
Lady Davis Institute