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The
Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology.
2003
Jul;47(3):297-300
Bhavanani AB, Madanmohan,
Udupa K.
Department of Physiology,
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, (JIPMER),
Pondicherry 605 006.
Reaction time (RT) is
an index of the processing ability of central nervous system and a simple
means of determining sensory-motor performance. It has been reported that
yoga training improves human performance including central neural
processing. Earlier studies from our laboratories have shown that yoga
training produces a significant decrease in visual reaction time (VRT) and
auditory reaction time (ART). The present work was planned to determine if
mukh bhastrika (a yogic technique in which breath is actively blasted out
in 'whooshes' following a deep inspiration) has any effect on central
neural processing by studying its effect on RT. 22 healthy schoolboys who
were practising yoga for the past three months were recruited for the
present study. VRT and ART were recorded before and after nine rounds of
mukh bhastrika. Mukh bhastrika produced a significant (P < 0.01) decrease
in VRT as well as ART. A decrease in RT indicates an improved
sensory-motor performance and enhanced processing ability of central
nervous system. This may be due to greater arousal, faster rate of
information processing, improved concentration and/ or an ability to
ignore extraneous stimuli. This is of applied value in situations
requiring faster reactivity such as sports, machine operation, race
driving and specialised surgery. It may also be of value to train mentally
retarded children and older sports persons who have prolonged RT.
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