Still, three areas of consistency emerged.

One was that yoga practice could be associated with more gray matter volume in the hippocampus. Another was the increased volume in certain areas of the prefrontal cortex, and the third was increased connectivity across the default mode network. The latter plays a part in what we call self-referential processingprocessing information about yourself, review paper co-author Jessica Damoiseaux, a cognitive neuroscientist at Wayne State University, told the publication for the November issue.

While the significance of the increased volume of gray matter its not completely clear, Damoiseaux said it suggests there may be more connections between neurons, which can indicate better functioning.

Better studies built on smaller experiments will produce clearer studies, according to Scientific American. Recently, Gothe got a federal grant for a study that will randomly assign 168 older adults to six months of yoga, aerobic exercise, or stretching and strengthening courses.

The aim is to examine the influence of the different regimens on brain anatomy and cognitive performance.

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Studies show how yoga may help boost age-related areas of brain - Atlanta Journal Constitution