Highlighting the therapeutic potential of yoga in mental health, Dr B N Gangadhar, Scientist Chair, Department of Ayush, emphasized that evidence-based integration of yoga is both feasible and essential in India’s clinical practice. He made these remarks while delivering the Prof. B. K. Bachhawat Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award Lecture at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Indian Academy of Neurosciences (IAN), hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) in Kovalam.
Neurobiological Evidence for Yoga in Depression
Delivering his lecture on ‘Neurobiological Evidence for Yoga in Depression’, Dr Gangadhar called for the development of a structured curriculum for training and advanced research on yoga’s benefits in treating mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.
He urged that mental health professionals be trained to effectively leverage yoga as a therapeutic tool. “We must integrate and mainstream yoga into psychiatry services to fully utilize its potential,” he said.
Extending Yoga Research Beyond Depression
Dr Gangadhar, former Director of NIMHANS, Bengaluru, also underscored the need to expand yoga biology research to other mental health disorders. He proposed developing consensus-based clinical practice guidelines for yoga and exploring its use as monotherapy in select conditions.
Physiological Benefits of Yoga
Discussing the biological impact of yoga, he explained that yoga helps reduce cortisol levels, the body’s primary stress hormone. “Most patients experience a significant drop in cortisol when they combine yoga with medication,” he noted. Moreover, he pointed out that yoga increases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels, which are typically low in depression, thereby aiding mental well-being.
Keynote Address on Brain Mosaicism in Epilepsy
In her keynote address titled ‘Brain Mosaicism in Epilepsy and Cortical Malformations’, Dr Stéphanie Baulac from the Paris Brain Institute (ICM), France, presented insights into novel detection methods for brain somatic mutations—DNA sequence changes that occur after conception—in epilepsy. She elaborated on the hidden genetics of epilepsies and the role of brain mosaicism in neurodevelopment and disease.
Global Participation and Research Focus
The four-day conference, held from October 29 to November 1, features leading scientists and experts from India and abroad. Researchers are presenting a wide range of papers covering themes such as glia in brain development and disorders, neurodegenerative mechanisms, memory systems, motor control, neural repair, precision medicine, neuroimaging advances, and synaptic plasticity.
Through such discussions, the IAN meeting continues to serve as a vital platform for advancing neuroscience research. It also promotes integrative approaches like yoga in mental health care.