Cited by 292Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsStress Responses and CortisolBiofield Effects and Biophysics

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Yoga, Meditation and Mind-Body Health: Increased BDNF, Cortisol Awakening Response, and Altered Inflammatory Marker Expression after a 3-Month Yoga and Meditation Retreat

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Cahn, B. Rael, Goodman, Matthew S., Peterson, Christine T., Maturi, Raj, Mills, Paul J.·2017·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00315PMC PMC5483482

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Abstract

Thirty-eight individuals (mean age: 34.8 years old) participating in a 3-month yoga and meditation retreat were assessed before and after the intervention for psychometric measures, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), circadian salivary cortisol levels, and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Participation in the retreat was found to be associated with decreases in self-reported anxiety and depression as well as increases in mindfulness. As hypothesized, increases in the plasma levels of BDNF and increases in the magnitude of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) were also observed. The normalized change in BDNF levels was inversely correlated with BSI-18 anxiety scores at both the pre-retreat (r = 0.40, p < 0.05) and post-retreat (r = 0.52, p < 0.005) such that those with greater anxiety scores tended to exhibit smaller pre- to post-retreat increases in plasma BDNF levels. In line with a hypothesized decrease in inflammatory processes resulting from the yoga and meditation practices, we found that the plasma level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-10 was increased and the pro-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-12 was reduced after the retreat. Contrary to our initial hypotheses, plasma levels of other pro-inflammatory cytokines, including Interferon Gamma (IFN-γ), Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and Interleukin-8 (IL-8) were increased after the retreat. Given evidence from previous studies of the positive effects of meditative practices on mental fitness, autonomic homeostasis and inflammatory status, we hypothesize that these findings are related to the meditative practices throughout the retreat; however, some of the observed changes may also be related to other aspects of the retreat such as physical exercise-related components of the yoga practice and diet. We hypothesize that the patterns of change observed here reflect mind-body integration and well-being. The increased BDNF levels observed is a potential mediator between meditative practices and brain health, the increased CAR is likely a reflection of increased dynamic physiological arousal, and the relationship of the dual enhancement of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine changes to healthy immunologic functioning is discussed.

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Authors: Cahn, B. R., Goodman, M. S., Peterson, C. T., Maturi, R., & Mills, P. J.
Affiliations: University of Southern California (US)
Alliant University (US)
University of California San Diego (US)
Midwest Eye Institute (US)
Corresponding author: Cahn, B. Rael
ORCID: Cahn, B. Rael
Peterson, Christine T.
Maturi, Raj
Mills, Paul J.
Venue: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Published: 2017-06-26
Volume: 11
Pages: 315-315
ISSN: 1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00315
PMC: PMC5483482
OpenAlex: W2648234476
Cited by: 292
References: 112
Citations by year: 2026: 27 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 81 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
FWCI: 37.99
Type: journal article
Language: en
Update notices: corrigendum (2022-04-08)
erratum (2023-08-30)
Open access: gold
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor)
Locations: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Biofield Effects and Biophysics
Keywords: yoga, meditation, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, cortisol awakening response, salivary cortisol, inflammatory cytokines, IL-10, IL-12, anxiety, depression, mindfulness, mind-body integration, well-being, autonomic homeostasis, neuroinflammation

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Yoga, Meditation and Mind-Body Health: Increased BDNF, Cortisol Awakening Response, and Altered Inflammatory Marker Expression after a 3-Month Yoga and Meditation Retreat

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