Yoga increases the volume of the hippocampus in elderly subjects. Author: Hariprasad VR, Varambally S, Shivakumar V, Kalmady SV, Venkatasubramanian G, Gangadhar BN. Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Advanced Centre for Yoga in Mental Health and Neurosciences, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Conference/Journal: Indian J Psychiatry. Date published: 2013 Jul Other: Volume ID: 55 , Issue ID: Supp. 3 , Pages: S394-6 , Special Notes: doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.116309 , Word Count: 101 CONTEXT: The neurobiological effect of yoga on the cortical structures in the elderly is as yet unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven healthy elderly subjects received yoga intervention as an add-on life-style practice. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained before and 6 months later. Voxel-based-morphometric analyses compared the brains before and after the yoga. RESULTS: Yoga group was found to have increases in hippocampal, but not in occipital gray matter. CONCLUSION: Yoga has potential to reduce neuro-senescence. Small sample size and absence of the control group prevent generalization of the findings limiting its translational value. KEYWORDS: Elderly, hippocampus, magnetic resonance imaging, yoga PMID: 24049206