Interoceptive awareness mediated the effects of a 15-minute diaphragmatic breathing on empathy for pain: A randomized controlled trial.

Although empathy for pain plays an important role in positive interpersonal relationships and encourages engagement in prosocial behavior, it remains largely unknown whether empathy for pain could be effectively altered by psychophysiological techniques. This study aimed to investigate the impact of a single session of diaphragmatic breathing practice on empathy for pain and examine the potential mechanism involving interoceptive awareness. A total of 66 healthy participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received a 15-minute diaphragmatic breathing (DB) practice with real-time biofeedback, while the control group was to gaze at a black screen at rest and not engaged in any other activities. Before and after the invention, all participants were instructed to evaluate the intensity and unpleasantness of empathy for pain while watching different pictures with pain or non-pain conditions. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) was then administered to measure interoceptive awareness. The results indicated a significant interaction between group and time with regard to empathy for pain and MAIA. The DB group showed a statistically significant decrease in both pain intensity and unpleasantness during the pain picture condition, as well as a noteworthy increase in MAIA scores. The control group did not demonstrate any substantial changes. More importantly, the regulation of attention, a dimension of MAIA, had a significant mediating effect on the impact of diaphragmatic breathing on reported unpleasantness. Diaphragmatic breathing could serve as a simple, convenient, and practical strategy to optimize human empathy for pain that warrants further investigation, which has important implications not only for individuals with impaired empathy for pain but also for the improvement of interoceptive awareness.

The altered volume of striatum: A neuroimaging marker of treatment in first-episode and drug-naïve schizophrenia.

Although schizophrenia patients exhibit structural abnormalities in the striatum, it remains largely unknown for the role of the striatum subregions in the treatment response of antipsychotic drugs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between the striatal subregions and improved clinical symptoms in first-episode drug-naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia. Forty-two FEDN schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. At baseline, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess the clinical symptoms of patients, MRI scanner was used to obtain anatomical images of patients and HCs. After 12-week stable doses of risperidone treatment, clinical symptoms were obtained in 38 patients and anatomical images in 26 patients. After 12 weeks of treatment, the left nucleus accumbens volume decreased, whereas the left pallidum volume increased in schizophrenia patients. The decreased left nucleus accumbens volume was positively correlated with cognitive factor improvement measured by PANSS. Intriguingly, greater left nucleus accumbens volume at baseline predicted greater cognitive improvements. Furthermore, the responders who had >50 % improvement in cognitive symptoms exhibited significantly greater baseline left nucleus accumbens volume compared to non-responders. The left striatum volume at baseline and after treatment predicted the cognitive improvements in FEDN schizophrenia, which could be a potential biomarker for the development of precision medicine approaches targeting cognitive function.

A longitudinal resource for population neuroscience of school-age children and adolescents in China.

During the past decade, cognitive neuroscience has been calling for population diversity to address the challenge of validity and generalizability, ushering in a new era of population neuroscience. The developing Chinese Color Nest Project (devCCNP, 2013-2022), the first ten-year stage of the lifespan CCNP (2013-2032), is a two-stages project focusing on brain-mind development. The project aims to create and share a large-scale, longitudinal and multimodal dataset of typically developing children and adolescents (ages 6.0-17.9 at enrolment) in the Chinese population. The devCCNP houses not only phenotypes measured by demographic, biophysical, psychological and behavioural, cognitive, affective, and ocular-tracking assessments but also neurotypes measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain morphometry, resting-state function, naturalistic viewing function and diffusion structure. This Data Descriptor introduces the first data release of devCCNP including a total of 864 visits from 479 participants. Herein, we provided details of the experimental design, sampling strategies, and technical validation of the devCCNP resource. We demonstrate and discuss the potential of a multicohort longitudinal design to depict normative brain growth curves from the perspective of developmental population neuroscience. The devCCNP resource is shared as part of the "Chinese Data-sharing Warehouse for In-vivo Imaging Brain" in the Chinese Color Nest Project (CCNP) - Lifespan Brain-Mind Development Data Community ( https://ccnp.scidb.cn ) at the Science Data Bank.

The contribution of the cingulate cortex: treating depressive symptoms in first-episode drug naïve schizophrenia.

Background: Our previous study has shown the cingulate cortex abnormalities in first-episode drug naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia patients with comorbid depressive symptoms. However, it remains largely unknown whether antipsychotics may induce morphometric change in cingulate cortex and its relationship with depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to further clarify the important role of cingulate cortex in the treatment on depressive symptoms in FEDN schizophrenia patients. Method: In this study, 42 FEDN schizophrenia patients were assigned into depressed patients group (DP, n = 24) and non-depressed patients group (NDP, n = 18) measured by the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD). Clinical assessments and anatomical images were obtained from all patients before and after 12-week treatment with risperidone. Results: Although risperidone alleviated psychotic symptoms in all patients, depressive symptoms were decreased only in DP. Significant group by time interaction effects were found in the right rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and other subcortical regions in the left hemisphere. After risperidone treatment, the right rACC were increased in DP. Further, the increasing volume of right rACC was negatively associated with improvement in depressive symptoms. Conclusion: These findings suggested that the abnormality of the rACC is the typical characteristics in schizophrenia with depressive symptoms. It's likely key region contributing to the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of risperidone treatment on depressive symptoms in schizophrenia.

Mindfulness-Based Movement Intervention to Improve Sleep Quality: A Meta-Analysis and Moderator Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

(1) Background: Given that the most effective dose, optimal type, and most beneficial population for improving sleep with mindfulness-based movement (MBM) remains unknown, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis with moderator analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess these effects. (2) Methods: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCO) were systematically searched for RCTs published through August 2021 for analysis. The risk of bias of the included studies was assessed with Review Manager 5.3, and the meta-analysis was performed in Stata 16.0. (3) Results: A meta-analysis of 61 RCTs with 2697 participants showed that MBM significantly improved sleep quality compared to controls (SMD = −0.794; 95% CI: −0.794 to −0.994, p < 0.001, I2 = 90.7%). Moderator analysis showed that a long-term MBM (SMD = −0.829; 95% CI: 0.945 to 0.712; p < 0.001) had a larger effect size on sleep than a short-term MBM (SMD = −0.714; 95% CI: 0.784 to 0.644; p < 0.001). Practicing at least twice per week (SMD = −0.793; 95% CI: −0.868 to −0.718; p < 0.001) was more effective compared to practicing once per week (SMD = −0.687; 95% CI: −0.804 to −0.570; p < 0.001). Studies with a total intervention time of more than 24 h also revealed better sleep quality improvement (SMD = −0.759; 95% CI: −0.865 to −0.653; p < 0.001). In addition, the healthy population and older adults gained more from MBM than the patients and younger adults. (4) Conclusions: MBM can effectively improve subjective sleep quality, and the optimal intervention dose of MBM can be utilized in future intervention studies to treat or improve sleep disturbance (MBM more than twice a week for more than three months, with a total intervention time of more than 24 h).

Integrating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Treatment With 8-Week Tai Chi Chuan Practice: An Exploration of Mind-Body Intervention and Neural Mechanism.

Objective: This study aims to explore the effect of integrating routine treatment with Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) intervention on the clinical symptom of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) from clinical and neurological perspectives. Methods: Twenty patients with COPD were recruited for regular treatment combined with 8-week TCC rehabilitative practice. Clinical symptoms were evaluated by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Symptom Assessment Scale (CAT) and Modified Dyspnea Scale (mMRC) at baseline and after treatment. Resting-state MRI scan was also performed with multiline T2-weighted echo-planar imaging (EPI) to acquire their functional images before and after the treatment. TCC rehabilitation involved a total of 8 weeks of practice with 90 min per session, three times a week. Results: After an 8-week integration routine treatment with TCC practice, the patient's clinical symptoms improved significantly. Imaging analysis showed that COPD patients exhibited decreased Degree of Centrality (DC) in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right middle frontal gyrus, bilateral cingulate cortex, bilateral precuneus, and right precentral gyrus. Moreover, correlation analysis found that the decreased DC in the right IFG was positively correlated with the CAT improvements. Conclusion: The routine treatment involving TCC rehabilitation practice could improve the clinical symptoms of patients with COPD. The right IFG might be a key brain region to contribute to the neural mechanism underlying integrative intervention on the clinical symptoms in COPD. These findings provide neurological evidence for treating COPD rehabilitation practice with mind-body practice based on Chinese culture to some extent, which also advances the understanding of the efficacy of TCC as the adjuvant technology from a neuroscience perspective. Clinical Trial Registration: [http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=45189], identifier [ChiCTR1900028335].

Effects of mind-body practice on arterial stiffness, central hemodynamic parameters and cardiac autonomic function of college students.

A substantial number of studies have shown the beneficial effects of mind-body practice on physical fitness among both the healthy middle-aged and elderly adults and patients with chronic diseases. However, its positive effects on college students remain poorly understood. This study aimed to systematically investigate the potential efficiency of the Baduanjin exercise on the maintenance of the homeostasis of body composition and the improvement of the cardiovascular function of the college students. The study revealed a promising efficacy of the Baduanjin exercise in the prevention of the loss of water, inorganic salts, protein, and muscle contents and the accumulation of body fat. Furthermore, the present study also demonstrated the positive efficacy of Baduanjin exercise in decreasing of peripheral and central arterial blood pressure and carotid and femoral artery pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) of the college students. Moreover, the heart rate variability (HRV) analysis was also performed using the assessment of time and frequency domain indices. The data showed that all of the time-domain indices and the high-frequency (HF) band of the HRV relatively increased, whereas the low-frequency (LF) band of the HRV relatively decreased after the long-term Baduanjin exercise. Collectively, the present study suggested that a 12-week Baduanjin exercise could maintain the body composition in a relatively healthy and stable range and improve blood pressure, central hemodynamics, and the arterial stiffness of the college students. The underlying mechanism might be due to the improvement of parasympathetic activity and the suppression of sympathetic activity of college students via Baduanjin exercise.

Interaction of Insomnia and Somatization with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has an adverse impact on the emotional health of prenatal maternal women and their offspring. During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, pregnant women are vulnerable to traumatic events and are prone to PTSD symptoms. The aim of the study was to explore the predictive effects of insomnia and somatization on PTSD in pregnant women by utilizing generalized additive model (GAM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1638 pregnant women from three local cities in China underwent online survey on sleep quality, somatization, and PTSD symptoms tested by the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the subscale somatization of Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90-S) and the Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), respectively. RESULTS: Insomnia was positively correlated with PTSD symptoms in pregnant women (p = 1.79×10-5). Interestingly, insomnia and somatization showed a complex non-primary linear interaction in predicting PTSD (p = 2.00×10-16). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that insomnia is a prominent predictor of PTSD symptoms in pregnant women in the context of public emergencies. In addition, the effects of insomnia and somatization on PTSD symptoms are characterized by complex non-primary linear relationships.

Aerobic Exercise Decreases Negative Affect by Modulating Orbitofrontal-Amygdala Connectivity in Adolescents.

Long-term negative affect in adolescence is associated with impairment in quality of life, interpersonal function, and social adaptation. Although physical exercise could decrease negative emotion, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Acute exercise with controlled intensity might be a good experimental paradigm to unravel the potential neural mechanisms underlying the effects of physical exercise on negative affect. In this study, twenty-three males in late adolescence were randomly assigned to acute exercise group (AG) or control group. The experiment contained pre-test and post-test session interleaved with 30-min moderate-intensity exercise or seated rest. In each session, a resting-state fMRI scanning was conducted followed by completing Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and Profile of Mood State. Bilateral amygdala was used as seed region to calculate t voxel-wised functional connectivity (FC) of amygdala to whole brain. The results demonstrated, for the first time, that AG exhibited increased FC between right amygdala and right orbital frontal cortex. Significantly decreased negative affect was also observed in AG. Moreover, the increased rOFC-amygdala FC was also associated with the decreased depression score. Our findings suggest that exercise-induced decreased negative affect might be modulated by functional interactions of amygdala with both cognitive control and limbic networks, which offers a meaningful insight for clinical treatment and prevention of emotional disorders in late adolescence.

The Effect of Tai Chi Chuan on Emotional Health: Potential Mechanisms and Prefrontal Cortex Hypothesis.

Deep involvement in the negative mood over long periods of time likely results in emotional disturbances/disorders and poor mental health. Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is regarded as a typical mind-body practice combining aerobic exercise and meditation to prevent and treat negative mood. Although there are an increasing number of TCC studies examining anxiety, depression, and mental stress, the mechanisms underlying these negative emotions are not fully understood. This review study examined TCC studies related to emotional health from both clinical patients and healthy individuals. Next, several potential mechanisms from physiological, psychological, and neurological perspectives were evaluated based on direct and indirect research evidence. We reviewed recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, which demonstrated changes in brain anatomy and function, mainly in the prefrontal cortex, following TCC practice. Finally, the effects of TCC on emotion/mental health is depicted with a prefrontal cortex hypothesis that proposed "an immune system of the mind" indicating the role of the prefrontal cortex as a flexible hub in regulating an individual's mental health. The prefrontal cortex is likely a key biomarker among the multiple complex neural correlates to help an individual manage negative emotions/mental health. Future research is needed to examine TCC effects on mental health by examining the relationship between the executive control system (mainly prefrontal cortex) and limbic network (including amygdala, insula, and hippocampal gyrus).

Structural abnormalities of cingulate cortex in patients with first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia comorbid with depressive symptoms.

Depressive symptoms are common in patients with first-episode psychosis. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the comorbid depression in schizophrenia are still unknown. The main purpose of this study was to characterize the structural abnormalities of first-episodes drug-naïve (FEDN) schizophrenia comorbid with depression by utilizing both volume-based and surface-based morphometric measurements. Forty-two patients with FEDN schizophrenia and 29 healthy controls were recruited. The 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-24) was administrated to divide all patients into depressive patients (DP) and non-depressive patients (NDP). Compared with NDP, DP had a significantly larger volume and surface area in the left isthmus cingulate cortex and also had a greater volume in the left posterior cingulate cortex. Correlation analysis showed that HAMD total score was positively correlated with the surface area of the left isthmus cingulate and gray matter volume of the left isthmus cingulate cortex. In addition, gray matter volume of the left isthmus cingulate was also correlated with the PANSS general psychopathology or total score. The findings suggest that prominent structural abnormalities of gray matter are mainly concentrated on the cingulate cortex in FEDN schizophrenia patients comorbid with depression, which may contribute to depressive symptoms and psychopathological symptoms.

Effects of Mind-Body Exercises on Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Mind-body exercises (MBEs) have been widely accepted as a complementary therapy for the patients with low exercise tolerance. Currently, the number of experimental studies investigating the effect of MBEs for improving symptoms in people with schizophrenia is increasing. However, results are inconsistent. METHODS: We systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the effects of mind-body exercises on schizophrenia. Seven electronic databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials [CENTRAL], CNKI and Wangfang) were screened through October 2019 and risks of bias of included studies were assessed in Review Manager 5.3. RESULTS: Meta-analysis on 13 studies with 1,159 patients showed moderately significant effects in favor of mind-body exercise intervention to improve positive symptoms (SMD = 0.31; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.60; p = 0.04), negative symptoms (SMD = 0.37; 95% CI 0.14 to 0.60; p = 0.002), and depression (SMD = 0.88; 95% CI 0.63 to 1.13; p<0.00001). Meta-regression analysis revealed that the improvement in positive symptoms was positively associated with the frequency of intervention (p = 0.04), while a marginally significant correlation was observed between the improved negative symptoms and duration of each session (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis supports the therapeutic effects of MBEs to aid in the treatment of schizophrenia. Further studies need to incorporate rigorous design and large sample size to identify the optimal type and dose of mind-body exercise to inform clinical practices on MBEs' recommendations for the management of schizophrenia symptoms.

Hypothesized Mechanisms Through Which Exercise May Attenuate Memory Interference.

In this paper we introduce a mechanistic model through which exercise may enhance episodic memory, specifically via attenuating proactive and retroactive memory interference. We discuss the various types of memory, different stages of memory function, review the mechanisms behind forgetting, and the mechanistic role of exercise in facilitating pattern separation (to attenuate memory interference).

Brain Functional Specialization Is Enhanced Among Tai Chi Chuan Practitioners.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of long-term Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practice on practitioners' brain functional specialization compare with the TCC novices. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: A psychology Institute. PARTICIPANTS: TCC practitioners (N=22) (52.4±6.8y; 7 men; educated years: 12.18±3.03y) and 18 healthy adults (54.8±6.8y; 8 men; education years: 11.78±2.90y) matched by age, sex, and education were enrolled. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning and cognitive test to measure the differences in functional specialization and cognitive function. Functional specialization was evaluated by voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method. RESULTS: Lower middle frontal gyrus VMHC in TCC practitioners compared to controls. For TCC practitioners, the longer they practice, the lower their VMHC in precentral and precuneus. TCC practitioners showed better cognition performance. CONCLUSIONS: Changed VMHC indicated that TCC practice could enhance functional specialization in the middle frontal cortex of practitioners, which may be associated with higher-order cognitive ability.

Effects of Acute Exercise Duration on the Inhibition Aspect of Executive Function in Late Middle-Aged Adults.

Objective: This study investigated whether acute exercise duration affects inhibition in late middle-aged adults. Methods: Over four separate days, 40 late middle-aged adults completed, in a counterbalanced order, three exercise sessions consisting of single bouts of moderate-to-vigorous intensity cycling, with the main acute exercise durations being 10, 20, and 45 min, and a control session consisting of 30 min of reading. Their inhibition performance was then evaluated by administration of the Stroop test following each session. Results: The participants had shorter mean response times for both the congruent and neutral conditions of the Stroop following the acute exercise lasting 20 min than they did after the control session. The acute exercise lasting 20 min also resulted in shorter response times for both conditions of the Stroop than the acute exercise lasting only 10 min. Meanwhile, the acute exercise lasting 45 min resulted in a shorter mean response time for the neutral Stroop condition than did the control session. Finally, the acute exercise lasting 20 min resulted in the shortest mean response time of all four sessions for the Stroop incongruent condition. Conclusion: The above findings suggest that the moderate-to-vigorous intensity acute exercise lasting 20 min facilitated multiple cognitive function domains in general, whereas the exercise sessions of shorter and longer duration had negligible effects on executive function in the late middle-aged adults. These results highlight the need to consider the duration of any moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise when developing acute exercise programs to facilitate executive function in aged populations.

The Effect of Tai Chi Chuan on Negative Emotions in Non-Clinical Populations: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.

Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) as a typical mind-body practice has been investigated for its preventive role on negative emotions and has demonstrated its efficacy in healthy populations. However, the results are not consistent. We performed a meta-analysis and systematically evaluated the effect of TCC on selected negative emotions (i.e., anxiety and depression). Fourteen experimental studies from three English-and two Chinese-language databases were evaluated. The results showed that the positive effects of TCC on negative emotions were moderately to largely significant. In addition, although TCC significantly improved negative emotions in both the young adults and the older adults, old adults benefited more from TCC than young adults. These findings suggest that TCC is a worthy complementary non-pharmacological resource towards depression and anxiety and, thus, has great implications for the public health domain.

Fitness-Dependent Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Executive Function.

Cognitive gains are reported to be induced by acute aerobic exercise, but the role of fitness in the effect of acute aerobic exercise on executive function remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effect of fitness on acute exercise-induced changes in executive function from neural mechanism approach. Twenty-four female college students were assigned to high-fitness or low-fitness groups based on their cardiovascular fitness level, and then underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing N-back tasks before and after 30 min of acute exercise. The behavioral results revealed significant interaction effects of group by time in the 0-back and 1-back tasks, but not in the 2-back task. The accuracy was significantly higher in the high-fitness group than in the low-fitness group before exercise in the 1-back and 2-back tasks. At the neural level, significant interaction effects of group by time were observed in all tasks. The 0-back and 1-back tasks activated the right cerebellum while the 2-back task activated subcortical regions. Our findings suggest that fitness moderates the effect of aerobic exercise on cognitive function, and provide the first neural evidence to support the influence of fitness on exercise-induced cognitive performance.

Effects of Mind⁻Body Exercises (Tai Chi/Yoga) on Heart Rate Variability Parameters and Perceived Stress: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: Heart rate variability (HRV) as an accurate, noninvasive measure of the Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) can reflect mental health (e.g., stress, depression, or anxiety). Tai Chi and Yoga (Tai Chi/Yoga), as the most widely practiced mind⁻body exercises, have shown positive outcomes of mental health. To date, no systematic review regarding the long-lasting effects of Tai Chi/Yoga on HRV parameters and perceived stress has been conducted. OBJECTIVE: To critically evaluate the existing literature on this topic. METHODS: Five electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, SportDiscus and Cochrane Library) were searched from the start of the research project to July 2018. Study selection, data extraction, and study quality assessment were independently carried out by two reviewers. The potentially identified randomized controlled trials (RCT) reported the useful quantitative data that were included only for meta-analysis. RESULTS: meta-analysis of 17 medium-to-high quality RCTs showed significantly beneficial effects on HRV parameters (normalized low-frequency, Hedge's g = -0.39, 95% CI -0.39 to -0.56, p < 0.001, I2 = 11.62%; normalized high-frequency, Hedge's g = 0.37, 95% CI 0.22 to -0.52, p < 0.001, I2 = 0%; low-frequency to high-frequency ratio, Hedge's g = -0.58, 95% CI -0.81 to -0.35, p < 0.001, I2 = 53.78%) and stress level (Hedge's g = -0.80, 95% CI -1.17 to -0.44, p < 0.001, I2 = 68.54%). CONCLUSIONS: Stress reduction may be attributed to sympathetic-vagal balance modulated by mind⁻body exercises. Tai Chi/Yoga could be an alternative method for stress reduction for people who live under high stress or negative emotions.

Mind⁻Body (Baduanjin) Exercise Prescription for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

Baduanjin exercise is a traditional Chinese health Qigong routine created by an ancient physician for health promotion. Its mild-to-moderate exercise intensity is suitable for individuals with medical conditions. Recently, a large number of trials have been conducted to investigate the effects of Baduanjin exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It remains to be determined whether Baduanjin exercise prescription is beneficial for the management of COPD patients. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to objectively evaluate the existing literature on this topic. We searched six databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang) from inception until early May 2018. The adapted Physical Therapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was used for study quality assessment of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Based on 95% confidence interval (CI), the pooled effect size (Hedge's g) of exercise capability (6-Minute Walking Test, 6-MWT), lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in one second, FEV1; forced volume vital capacity, FVC; FEV1/FVC ratio), and quality of life were calculated based on the random-effects model. Twenty RCTs (n = 1975 COPD patients) were included in this review, with sum scores of the adapted PEDro scale between 5 and 9. Study results of the meta-analysis indicate that Baduanjin is effective in improving exercise capability (Hedge's g = 0.69, CI 0.44 to 0.94, p < 0.001, I² = 66%), FEV1 (Hedge's g = 0.47, CI 0.22 to 0.73, p < 0.001, I² = 68.01%), FEV1% (Hedge's g = 0.38, CI 0.21 to 0.56, p < 0.001, I² = 54.74%), FVC (Hedge's g = 0.39, CI 0.22 to 0.56, p < 0.001, I² = 14.57%), FEV1/FVC (Hedge's g = 0.5, CI 0.33 to 0.68, p < 0.001, I² = 53.49%), and the quality of life of COPD patients (Hedge's g = -0.45, CI -0.77 to -0.12, p < 0.05, I² = 77.02%), as compared to control groups. Baduanjin exercise as an adjunctive treatment may potentially improve exercise capability and pulmonary function of COPD patients as well as quality of life. Baduanjin exercise could be tentatively prescribed for COPD in combination with the conventional rehabilitation program to quicken the process of recovery. To confirm the positive effects of Baduanjin exercise for COPD patients, future researchers need to consider our suggestions mentioned in this article.