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Cited by 33Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsHemispheric Asymmetry in NeuroscienceBiofield Effects and Biophysics

Hemisphere specific EEG related to alternate nostril yoga breathing

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Telles, Shirley, Gupta, Ram Kumar, Yadav, Arti, Pathak, Shivangi, Balkrishna, Acharya·2017·BMC Research Notes
DOI 10.1186/s13104-017-2625-6PMC PMC5525313
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Abstract

Previously, forced unilateral nostril breathing was associated with ipsilateral, or contralateral cerebral hemisphere changes, or no change. Hence it was inconclusive. The present study was conducted on 13 normal healthy participants to determine the effects of alternate nostril yoga breathing on (a) cerebral hemisphere asymmetry, and (b) changes in the standard EEG bands. Participants were randomly allocated to three sessions (a) alternate nostril yoga breathing (ANYB), (b) breath awareness and (c) quiet sitting, on separate days. EEG was recorded from bilaterally symmetrical sites (FP 1 , FP 2 , C 3 , C 4 , O 1 and O 2 ). All sites were referenced to the ipsilateral ear lobe. There was no change in cerebral hemisphere symmetry. The relative power in the theta band was decreased during alternate nostril yoga breathing (ANYB) and the beta amplitude was lower after ANYB. During quiet sitting the relative power in the beta band increased, while the amplitude of the alpha band reduced. The results suggest that ANYB was associated with greater calmness, whereas quiet sitting without specific directions was associated with arousal. The results imply a possible use of ANYB for stress and anxiety reduction.

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  • The authors did not observe alpha power asymmetry as previously reported.

    “We did not observe alpha power asymmetry as previously reported (Dziembowska et al., 2016;Telles et al., 2017).”

    From Frontal Electroencephalography Asymmetry and Desynchronized Functional Connectivity Associated with Long-Term and Short-Term Breathing Training (2026) · cites this paper as Telles et al., 2017

    The citation presents Telles et al. as a prior report of alpha-power asymmetry. Its Discussion and Conclusions instead say that alternate-nostril breathing did not change cerebral hemisphere symmetry or asymmetry; the reported alpha-amplitude decrease occurred during quiet sitting, not as a left–right asymmetry finding. The citing authors’ own failure to observe asymmetry cannot be assessed from this source. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • Low frequency spectral power increased in breathing training practitioners.

    “The results of breath counting aligned with the previous studies that low frequency spectral power increased in the breathing training practitioners (Dziembowska et al., 2016;Isbel et al., 2019;Telles et al., 2017)”

    From Frontal Electroencephalography Asymmetry and Desynchronized Functional Connectivity Associated with Long-Term and Short-Term Breathing Training (2026) · cites this paper as Telles et al., 2017

    The Results (Post-hoc analyses with Bonferroni adjustment; page unavailable) report that theta-band energy, a low-frequency EEG measure, significantly decreased during alternate nostril yoga breathing. The Discussion likewise describes decreased relative theta power, rather than the claimed increase. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Research works printed but not linked: 22

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Telles, S., Gupta, R. K., Yadav, A., Pathak, S., & Balkrishna, A.
Affiliations
Patanjali Research Foundation (IN)
Corresponding author
Telles, Shirley
ORCID
Venue
BMC Research Notes
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2017-07-24
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
306-306
ISSN
1756-0500 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s13104-017-2625-6
PMC
PMC5525313
OpenAlex
W2737858973
Cited by
33
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1
FWCI
5.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • BMC Research Notes (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Institutional (Divya Yog Mandir Trust)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Biofield Effects and Biophysics
Keywords
theta band, beta band, alpha band, breath awareness, stress reduction, anxiety reduction, tranquility, arousal
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Humans, Functional Laterality, Male, Middle Aged, Nasal Cavity, Respiration, Yoga, Young Adult, Brain Waves

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