Long-term Add-on Yoga Therapy Modulates Oxidative Stress Pathway and Offers Clinical Benefits in Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Yoga therapy (YT) as an adjunct treatment has reportedly been demonstrated to offer clinical benefits in major depressive disorder (MDD). Although a few biological pathways are suggested to mediate the effects of yoga, the precise mechanistic basis remains unknown. Oxidative stress pathway activation has consistently been linked to the pathobiology of MDD. Whether YT has a modulatory effect on the oxidative stress pathway in MDD is not adequately understood. Aim and Objectives: In this study, we examined the impact of a course (3 months) of yoga as an add on therapy on the markers of the oxidative stress pathway in MDD patients. Methods: Thirty-three MDD patients were randomized to the YT (n = 16) and waitlist control (WC) (n = 17) groups. Colorimetric estimation of the plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant (AO) levels was performed in all the study participants using commercially available kits at the baseline and after 3 months. Results: A significant reduction of plasma MDA levels was observed in MDD patients of YT group (P = 0.05) after 3 months of YT. Notably, the plasma MDA levels also decreased in MDD patients of WC group (P = 0.015) after the trial period. In addition, levels of total AO showed a trend toward significance only in MDD patients after 3 months of YT (P = 0.07). Conclusion: The current study suggests that the benefits of YT might be mediated through its modulatory role on the oxidative stress pathway in MDD.

A transdiagnostic evaluation of cortical inhibition in severe mental disorders using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Multiple lines of investigations suggest the presence of cortical inhibition aberrations as central to the phenotypic manifestations of severe mental disorders. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) combined with electromyography can characterize these inhibitory processes in the motor cortex with satisfactory temporal precision. We examined TMS-evoked short- (SICI) and long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI) and cortical silent period (CSP) as markers of GABAA- (SICI) and GABAB-mediated (LICI and CSP) cortical neurotransmission in symptomatic individuals with mania (n = 40), schizophrenia (n = 76), unipolar depression (n = 86), and OCD (n = 43), and compared them against similar recordings in healthy subjects (n = 125). We hypothesized transdiagnostic GABAA deficits across all the clinical groups and diagnosis-specific GABAB alterations in mania (increased) and OCD (decreased). After controlling for potential confounder variables (gender, education, benzodiazepine prescription, and motor threshold) using the ANCOVA, we observed no significant group difference in SICI (F = 1.04, P = 0.38), but a significant group effect in LICI (F = 16.29, P < 0.001) and CSP (F = 3.02, P = 0.018). Post-hoc analyses revealed that LICI was significantly reduced in OCD but increased in mania and schizophrenia with reference to the healthy group. Similarly, CSP was significantly reduced in OCD and depression groups as compared to the reference group. We observed that LICI and CSP, both followed similar descending gradients from mania through schizophrenia and depression to OCD; with significant elevation in mania, and reduction in depression and OCD, as compared to the healthy group. This pattern of GABAB-mediated cortical inhibition aberrations needs independent validation as potential state-markers of distinct clinical categories.

Relationship between Vedic personality traits (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) with life satisfaction and perceived stress in healthy university students: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Trigunas are three basic mental attributes of a personality according to Indian Vedic literature that explains the relationship between mental attributes and human behavior. The three attributes are Tamas (tendency toward lethargy and rigidity), Rajas (tendency toward ambition and activity) and Sattva (tendency toward selfless service), respectively. Satisfaction with life and perceived stress are the important determinants of one's quality of life. Aim: A cross-sectional study assessed the relationship between Trigunas, life satisfaction and perceived stress. Materials and methods: The study recruited 121 willing healthy university students (75 females) with general health questionnaire scores ≤3. All participants were assessed using standardized psychometric tools. Results: Spearman two-tailed correlation test revealed Sattva to have positive correlation with life satisfaction (r = 0.503) and negative correlation with perceived stress (r = -0.302) and other two Gunas (Tamas: R = -0.77; Rajas: R = -0.75), respectively. On the other hand, both Rajas and Tamas correlated positively with perceived stress (Rajas: R = 0.183; Tamas: R = 0.321) and negatively with life satisfaction (Rajas: R = -0.40; Tamas: R = -0.36). Conclusion: This cross-sectional study on university students in India suggests an association of Vedic personality traits (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas Gunas) with life satisfaction, and perceived stress.