The Effect of Yoga Meditation Practice on Young Adults’ Inhibitory Control: An fNIRS Study
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience September 13, 2021 Dongdong Jiang, Zongyu Liu, Guoxiao Sun
A randomized trial found that a session of yoga meditation temporarily increased brain activation in the prefrontal cortex and improved accuracy on a Flanker task measuring inhibitory control in young adults. Fifty participants (aged 21–28) were assigned to either a yoga meditation group or a control group. After the intervention, the yoga meditation group showed higher accuracy on the Flanker task and greater oxyhemoglobin levels in the prefrontal cortex, as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The authors conclude that yoga meditation is an effective exercise for improving inhibitory control in young adults.