Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
August 7, 2020
C. S. Deolindo, M. W. Ribeiro, M. A. Aratanha et al.
Meditation practices, originated from ancient traditions, have increasingly received attention due to their potential benefits to mental and physical health. The scientific community invests efforts into scrutinizing and quantifying the effects of these practices, especially on the brain. There are methodological challenges in describing the neural correlates of the subjective experience of...
Frontiers in Bioscience
March 1, 2020
Rui F. Afonso, Inessa Kraft, M. A. Aratanha et al.
Here, we review the neurophysiological and neuroimaging changes that mediation induces in structural and functional MRI. The available evidence from structural studies suggests that mediation impacts neuronal plasticity and the functional MRI suggest that there are changes in gray and white matter in subjects who meditate. FMRI studies show that meditation is associated with decreased activity...
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
July 2, 2019
Danilo Forghieri Santaella, Joana Bisol Balardin, Rui F. Afonso et al.
37 citations
Large-scale brain networks exhibit changes in functional connectivity during the aging process. Recent literature data suggests that Yoga and other contemplative practices may revert, at least in part, some of the aging effects in brain functional connectivity, including of the Default Mode Network (DMN). The aim of this cross-sectional investigation was to compare resting-state functional...
Geriatrics & gerontology international
2017
Marcelo Ad Danucalov, Elisa H. Kozasa, Rui F. Afonso et al.
To investigate the effects of the practice of yoga in combination with compassion meditation on the quality of life, attention, vitality and self-compassion of family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. A total of 46 volunteers were randomly allocated to two groups, the yoga and compassion meditation program group (n = 25), and the control group (CG) that received no treatment (n =...