U. Goswami’s research while affiliated with Lady Hardinge Medical College and other places

Unipolar depression is the most common mood disorder and previous studies have demonstrated autonomic dysregulation in patients of major depression. Present study was carried out to assess the efficacy of Sahaj yoga meditation on autonomic parameters in healthy subjects & patients of major depression. The study was carried out on 30 patients suffering from major depression and 15 healthy subjects. They were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1 (n=15): Patients who practiced Sahaj yoga meditation in addition to the conventional antidepressant medication. Group 2 (n=15): Patients received only antidepressant medication. Group 3 (n=15): Healthy subjects, who practiced Sahaj yoga. Group 1 and Group 3 subjects practiced Sahaj yoga meditation under the supervision of a trained Sahaj Yogi for a period of 8 weeks. All the subjects were assessed for pulse rate (PR), respiratory rate (RR), galvanic skin response (GSR) at 0 week (Pre-test) and 8 weeks (Post-test). After 8 weeks of intervention, there was statistically significant decrease in PR (p<0.001), RR (p<0.001) & GSR (p<0.001) in healthy subjects whereas, there was no significant change in these parameters in Group 1 subjects. Present study demonstrates beneficial effects of Sahaj yoga meditation on autonomic parameters in healthy subjects, but not in patients of major depression.

Background: Sahaj yoga is a form of meditative process that has been found to have beneficial effects in the management of depressive disorders. It has also been shown to improve alpha rhythm in healthy practitioners along with many other purported health benefits. Methods: The study was carried out on 30 patients suffering from major depression diagnosed on the basis of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV criteria) and 30 healthy subjects who were screened for any sub-psychiatric illness by General Health Questionnaire (G.H.Q.). Patients and healthy subjects were then randomly divided into study and their respective control groups as follows: Group 1 (n=15): Patients who practiced Sahaj yoga meditation in addition to the conventional antidepressant medication. Group 2 (n=15): Patients received only antidepressant medication. Group 3 (n=15): Healthy subjects, who practiced Sahaj yoga. Group 4: (n=15) Healthy subjects who did not practice Sahaj yoga meditation. Group 1 and Group 3 subjects practiced Sahaj yoga meditation under the supervision of trained Sahaj Yogi for a period of 8 weeks. All the subjects were assessed for Alpha activity in EEG at 0 week (Pre-Test) and 8 weeks (Post-test) and results were statistically analyzed. Results: After 8 weeks, there was no statistically significant change in alpha activity (Pre vs. Post) in both groups (Group 1 and Group 2) of depressive patients. In healthy subjects, significant increase in alpha activity (p<0.001) was observed in Group 3 subjects only. Conclusion: Present study demonstrates beneficial effects of Sahaj yoga meditation on alpha activity in only healthy subjects with no acute beneficial effects being observed on these parameters in patients of major depression.

Earlier studies have shown conflicting results regarding impairment of executive functions in patients of major depression. In the present study, subjects were divided into following groups-Group 1 (19 Males & 11 females, age 18-45 years) consisting of patients of major depression diagnosed on the basis of DSM IV criteria and Group 2 (20 Males & 10 females, age 18-45 years) consisting of healthy subjects who had been screened for any sub-psychiatric illness by standardized hindi version of Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (G.H.Q.). All the Group 1 & Group 2 subjects were rated on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and then administered Neuro-cognitive test battery consisting of Letter Cancellation test, Trail Making test 'A' & 'B', Ruff Figural Fluency test, Forward & Reverse Digit Span test for assessing following cognitive domains: Attention span, visuo-motor scanning, short term memory and executive functions like working memory, information manipulation, set-shifting strategy analysis etc. Results showed significant impairment on all the studied neuro-cognitive parameters in Group 1 subjects as compared to Group 2 subjects, which demonstrate significant impairment of attention, visuomotor speed, immediate verbal memory, short-term retentive capacity and executive functions (strategic planning, attentional set shifting and working memory) in patients of major depression. It may probably be due to the disruption of dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlpfc) and orbito-frontal networks in patients of major depression.

Cognitive functions are impaired in Major Depression. Studies on the effects of Yoga on cognitive functions have shown improvement in memory, vigilance and anxiety levels. 30 patients suffering from Major depression (age 18 to 45 years) were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1: (10 males and 5 Females) Patients who practised Sahaj Yoga meditation and also received conventional anti-depressant medication. Group 2: (9 males and 6 Females) Patients who only received conventional antidepressant medication. Group 1 patients were administered Sahaj Yoga practice for 8 weeks. Neuro-cognitive test battery consisting of Letter cancellation test (LCT), Trail making test 'A' (TTA), Trail making test 'B' (TTB), Ruff figural fluency test (RFFT), Forward digit span (FDS) & Reverse digit span test (RDS) was used to assess following cognitive domains: Attention span, visuo-motor speed, short-term memory, working memory and executive functions. After 8 weeks, both Group 1 and Group 2 subjects showed significant improvement in LCT, TTA & TTB but improvement in LCT was more marked in Group 1 subjects. Also, there was significant improvement in RDS scores in only Group 1 subjects (P < 0.05). The results thereby, demonstrate that Sahaj Yoga practice in addition to the improvement in various other cognitive domains seen with conventional anti-depressants, can lead to additional improvement in executive functions like manipulation of information in the verbal working memory and added improvement in attention span and visuo-motor speed of the depressives.