Research suggests, fairly robustly, that yoga-related practices, particularly mindfulness and meditation, can have positive impacts on the brain. This positive effect on the brain/nervous system in turn is related to positive impacts on our stress response and our mental health. Some of the ways (or pathways) in which these influences manifest is via brain bioelectrical activities, neurotransmitters, and synaptic plasticity. This monthly dose will summarize some of what we know in the area of yoga/mindfulness and neurotransmitters.

Click the link below to read the research referenced throughout this lecture:

Nerve Cell Signaling:

• Animation
• Firing in Hippocampus (Actual)

Other References:

• Nourollahimoghadam, E., Gorji, S., Gorji, A., & Khaleghi Ghadiri, M. (2021). Therapeutic role of yoga in neuropsychological disorders. World journal of psychiatry, 11(10), 754–773. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v11.i10.754
• Newberg AB, Iversen J. The neural basis of the complex mental task of meditation: neurotransmitter and neurochemical considerations. Med Hypotheses. 2003;61:282–291.
• Krishnakumar, D., Hamblin, M. R., & Lakshmanan, S. (2015). Meditation and Yoga can Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety-A Modern Scientific Perspective. Ancient science, 2(1), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.14259/as.v2i1.171