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Does Yoga Have a Role in Schizophrenia Management?
Ramajayam Govindaraj1, Shivarama Varambally2,3, Naren P Rao4
1Centre for Consciousness Studies, Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bengaluru, India.
Current Psychiatry Reports
|November 3, 2020
Summary
Yoga therapy can improve quality of life, cognitive, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Further research is needed to explore its effects on positive symptoms and underlying biological mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Integrative and Complementary Medicine
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder with significant impact on quality of life.
- Current treatments primarily focus on positive symptoms, often with limited efficacy for cognitive and negative symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the efficacy of add-on yoga therapy for schizophrenia symptoms.
- To examine potential biological mechanisms underlying yoga's effects in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on yoga therapy in schizophrenia.
- Exploration of neurohormonal and functional brain changes.
Main Results:
- Add-on yoga therapy significantly improved quality of life (effect size 0.8), cognitive symptoms (0.6), and negative symptoms (0.4).
- A small positive effect was observed for positive symptoms.
- Potential mechanisms involve neurohormonal pathways and altered brain activity.
Conclusions:
- Add-on yoga therapy presents a promising option for enhancing quality of life and ameliorating cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.
- Further multicentric trials are warranted to confirm efficacy and elucidate neurobiological underpinnings.
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