Meditation and Yoga can Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety-A Modern Scientific Perspective

Divya Krishnakumar; Michael R Hamblin; Shanmugamurthy Lakshmanan

doi:10.14259/as.v2i1.171

Meditation and Yoga can Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety-A Modern Scientific Perspective

Anc Sci. 2015 Apr;2(1):13-19. doi: 10.14259/as.v2i1.171.

Authors

Divya Krishnakumar¹, Michael R Hamblin², Shanmugamurthy Lakshmanan³

Affiliations

¹ World Institute for Scientific Exploration, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA; Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
² Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridg, MA, USA.
³ World Institute for Scientific Exploration, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA; Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA.

Abstract

Meditation and Yoga techniques are receiving increased attention throughout the world, due to the accumulation of evidence based research that proves the direct and indirect benefits of such practices. Based on studies conducted so far, it has been found that the practice of meditation triggers neurotransmitters that modulate psychological disorders such as anxiety. This paper will review the psychological effects of the practice of meditation, the role of neurotransmitters, and studies using EEG and fMRI.

Keywords: Behaviour and Anxiety; Meditation; Neurotransmitters; Yoga; brain mechanisms.

Grants and funding

R01 AI050875/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States