生物谷报道：来自Boston大学医学院及McLean医院的科学家们最近发现，练习瑜伽可以提高大脑中γ-胺基丁酸（GABA）的含量，GABA是大脑中主要的抑制性神经传导物质。这项研究结果发表于5月号的Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine中。研究结果指出，瑜伽可以治疗忧郁或焦虑等，与低GABA浓度相关的神经疾病。
世界卫生组织报告指出，精神疾病占世界疾病总量的15%。而其中忧郁和焦虑症都和GABA含量过低有关。目前，这些疾病可以通过提高GABA的药物得到有效的治疗。
利用核磁共振影像技术，科学家比较练习瑜伽前后的GABA含量变化情况，同时还分析了没有练习瑜伽，但是阅读一小时的情况。结果显示参与瑜伽的小组中，GABA含量提高了27%，但是在参与阅读的小组中没有变化。
因此，瑜伽可以减轻包括忧郁、焦虑和癫痫等症状。文章主要作者BUSM的精神病学及神经学助理教授Chris Streeter表示，练习瑜伽之后，人们的大脑中GABA的含量提高了。这项研究有助于科学家了解GABA系统如何受到药物和行为的影响，因此有助于研发出新的治疗方法。
原始出处:
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
May 2007, Vol. 13, No. 4 : 419 -426
Yoga Asana Sessions Increase Brain GABA Levels: A Pilot Study
Chris C. Streeter, M.D.
Division of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA.
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
J. Eric Jensen, Ph.D.
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA.
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Ruth M. Perlmutter, B.S.
Division of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
Howard J. Cabral, Ph.D.
Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
Hua Tian, M.S.
Division of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
Devin B. Terhune, M.Sc.
Division of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
Domenic A. Ciraulo, M.D.
Division of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Boston V.A. Healthcare System, Boston, MA.
Perry F. Renshaw, M.D.
Division of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA.
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare changes in brain γ-aminobutyric (GABA) levels associated with an acute yoga session versus a reading session. It was hypothesized that an individual yoga session would be associated with an increase in brain GABA levels.
Design: This is a parallel-groups design.
Settings/location: Screenings, scan acquisitions, and interventions took place at medical school–affiliated centers.
Subjects: The sample comprised 8 yoga practitioners and 11 comparison subjects.
Interventions: Yoga practitioners completed a 60-minute yoga session and comparison subjects completed a 60-minute reading session.
Outcome measures: GABA-to-creatine ratios were measured in a 2-cm axial slab using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging immediately prior to and immediately after interventions.
Results: There was a 27% increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after the yoga session (0.20 mmol/kg) but no change in the comparison subject group after the reading session ( −0.001 mmol/kg) (t = −2.99, df = 7.87, p = 0.018).
Conclusions:These findings demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga. This suggests that the practice of yoga should be explored as a treatment for disorders with low GABA levels such as depression and anxiety disorders. Future studies should compare yoga to other forms of exercise to help determine whether yoga or exercise alone can alter GABA levels.
