The Role of Short-Term Yoga Practice on the Central Nervous System and Cognitive Performance: An Electrophysiological Approach

Abstract

This study aims to examine the short-term effects of an eight-week regular yoga practice on cognitive performance, anxiety levels, and neurophysiological indicators. A total of 15 healthy adults participated in the study, and assessments were conducted using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), N-Back test, and EEG recordings before and after the intervention. EEG results revealed statistically significant increases in delta and theta frequency bands in the central cortical regions (p = .026), suggesting that yoga contributes to attentional and relaxation-related neurophysiological processes. Although group-level analyses for anxiety did not reach statistical significance, a medium effect size was detected (r = .55), and individual analyses showed a decrease in anxiety scores in 11 participants. Regarding cognitive performance, the 2-Back letter task showed a near-significant improvement in precision scores (p = .090, r = .52), indicating that yoga may enhance attentional accuracy under high cognitive load. Overall, the findings suggest that yoga practice may positively influence the functioning of the central nervous system, emotional regulation, and executive functions. The results support the use of yoga-based interventions as functional tools in both psychological support and sport sciences. This study provides a comprehensive basis for future research aiming to investigate mind-body interventions using simultaneous psychometric, electrophysiological, and behavioral assessments.

Keywords

• Yoga
• EEG
• Cognitive Performance
• Anxiety

Kısa Dönem Yoga Uygulamalarının Merkezi Sinir Sistemi ve Bilişsel Performans Üzerindeki Rolü: Elektrofizyolojik Bir Yaklaşım

Abstract

Bu araştırma, sekiz haftalık düzenli yoga pratiğinin bilişsel performans, anksiyete düzeyi ve nörofizyolojik göstergeler üzerindeki kısa vadeli etkilerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmaya 15 sağlıklı yetişkin katılmış ve yoga uygulaması öncesi ve sonrası Beck Anksiyete Envanteri (BAE), N-Back testi ve EEG ölçümleri kullanılarak değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. EEG bulguları, özellikle santral kortikal bölgelerde delta ve teta frekans bantlarında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı artışlar olduğunu göstermiştir (p = .026). Bu sonuç, yoga uygulamasının dikkat, gevşeme ve içsel farkındalık gibi süreçlere nörofizyolojik düzeyde katkı sunduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Anksiyete düzeyine ilişkin analizlerde, grup düzeyinde anlamlı bir fark saptanmamış olsa da, etki büyüklüğü orta düzeyde bulunmuştur (r = .55) ve bireysel analizler 11 katılımcıda kaygı düzeyinde düşüş olduğunu göstermektedir. N-Back testine dayalı bilişsel performans ölçümlerinde, özellikle 2-Back harf görevinde precision skorunda anlamlılığa yakın bir artış gözlenmiştir (p = .090, r = .52). Bu bulgu, yoga uygulamasının yüksek bilişsel yük altında dikkat performansını destekleyebileceğini düşündürmektedir. Çalışmanın sonuçları, yoga pratiğinin merkezi sinir sistemi işleyişi, duygusal regülasyon ve yürütücü işlevler üzerinde olumlu etkileri olabileceğine işaret etmektedir. Bulgular, yoga temelli müdahalelerin bireysel psikolojik destek ve spor bilimi alanlarında işlevsel biçimde kullanılabileceğini göstermekte ve ileriki çalışmalar için çok boyutlu bir temel sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Yoga
• EEG
• Bilişsel Performans
• Anksiyete

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