Yoga May Help Treat Depression, Anxiety Disorders Jun 9, 2007
In the study, the Boston researchers used high-tech magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to gauge levels of GABA in the brains of eight long-time yoga practitioners and 11 non-practitioners. The participants were healthy, and none was diagnosed with a major psychiatric condition. (MEDLINEplus)
Yoga and elevated brain GABA levels May 22, 2007
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, the researchers compared the GABA levels of eight subjects prior to and after one hour of yoga, with 11 subjects who did no yoga but instead read for one hour. The researchers found a twenty-seven percent increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after their session, but no change in the comparison subject group after their reading session. (EurekAlert!)
Early Use Of Nicotine Could Increase Susceptibility For Life-long Addiction Oct 19, 2006
The research team, led by Jay W. Pettegrew, M.D., professor of psychiatry, used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to evaluate the effects of acute nicotine administration on nerve cell membranes -- the functional communication centers of the brain. According to their findings, nicotine induced molecular and metabolic changes in the brain, which resulted in the breakdown of the nerve cell membranes. (Science Daily)
Childhood Sleep Apnea Linked To Brain Damage, Lower IQ Aug 28, 2006
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, which plots peak levels of brain chemicals in the form of graphs, researchers compared the ratios between each two of three chemicals - N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine and choline - in children with apnea and in those without. The hippocampus and the right frontal cortex of children with sleep apnea showed altered ratios of these neurochemicals that are not specific to any one disease but indicate injury to brain cells. (Science Daily)
