Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20722471›Full record

Trial reportJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2010

Effects of yoga versus walking on mood, anxiety, and brain GABA levels: a randomized controlled MRS study.

Chris C Streeter, Theodore H Whitfield, Liz Owen, Tasha Rein, Surya K Karri, Aleksandra Yakhkind, Ruth Perlmutter, Andrew Prescot, Perry F Renshaw, Domenic A Ciraulo and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 160 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
160citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
14.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

160 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 490 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. The effect of mind-body exercise in lung cancer patients: a meta-analysis of RCTs.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023
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  18. Effects of body-oriented yoga: a RCT study for patients with major depressive disorder.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021
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100 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.

Chris C StreeterDivision of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, 85 East Newton Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA. streeter@bu.edu
Theodore H Whitfield
Liz Owen
Tasha Rein
Surya K Karri
Aleksandra Yakhkind
Ruth Perlmutter
Andrew Prescot
Perry F Renshaw
Domenic A Ciraulo
J Eric Jensen
Boston University · USUniversity of Utah · USBoston Children's Hospital · USCentral Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy · INDana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center · USMcLean Hospital · USUniversity of Massachusetts Boston · US

Funding

YOGA INDUCED CHANGES IN BRAIN GABA LEVELSM01RR000533 · NCRR · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI HOLICK, MICHAEL F. · 1985 to 2008
$19.4M
CTSA INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCHUL1RR025771 · NCRR · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI CENTER, DAVID M. · 2008 to 2011
$17.6M
Interdisciplinary Study of Two Novel Anticonvulsants in AlcoholismR01AA015923 · NIAAA · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · PI FARCHIONE, TODD J. · 2009 to 2020
$6.4M
The Effects of Yoga on Brain GABA LevelsR21AT004015 · NCCIH · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI STREETER, CHRIS CONWAY · 2008 to 2009
$663k
NCCIH NIH HHS 1R21AT004015NCRR NIH HHS M01RR00533NCRR NIH HHS UL1RR025771NIAAA NIH HHS R01 1AA 015923PHS HHS DAO15116
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesYoga and exercise have beneficial effects on mood and anxiety. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic activity is reduced in mood and anxiety disorders. The practice of yoga postures is associated with increased brain GABA levels. This study addresses the question of whether changes in mood, anxiety, and GABA levels are specific to yoga or related to physical activity.

methodsHealthy subjects with no significant medical/psychiatric disorders were randomized to yoga or a metabolically matched walking intervention for 60 minutes 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Mood and anxiety scales were taken at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, and before each magnetic resonance spectroscopy scan. Scan 1 was at baseline. Scan 2, obtained after the 12-week intervention, was followed by a 60-minute yoga or walking intervention, which was immediately followed by Scan 3.

resultsThe yoga subjects (n = 19) reported greater improvement in mood and greater decreases in anxiety than the walking group (n = 15). There were positive correlations between improved mood and decreased anxiety and thalamic GABA levels. The yoga group had positive correlations between changes in mood scales and changes in GABA levels.

conclusionsThe 12-week yoga intervention was associated with greater improvements in mood and anxiety than a metabolically matched walking exercise. This is the first study to demonstrate that increased thalamic GABA levels are associated with improved mood and decreased anxiety. It is also the first time that a behavioral intervention (i.e., yoga postures) has been associated with a positive correlation between acute increases in thalamic GABA levels and improvements in mood and anxiety scales. Given that pharmacologic agents that increase the activity of the GABA system are prescribed to improve mood and decrease anxiety, the reported correlations are in the expected direction. The possible role of GABA in mediating the beneficial effects of yoga on mood and anxiety warrants further study.

Indexed as

AffectAdultAnxietyBrainExerciseFemalegamma-Aminobutyric AcidHumansMagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyMaleWalkingYogaYoung Adultgamma-Aminobutyric Acid

Identifiers

PMID20722471
PMCPMC3111147
OpenAlexW2029360490

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.