Effects of QiGong on brain function.
QiGong is an ancient and widely practiced Chinese meditation exercise. We studied the effects of QiGong on brain function with modern neuromonitoring tools in two subjects. In a male QiGong master (extremely trained practitioner), the technique induced reproducible changes in transcranial Doppler sonography, EEG, stimulus-induced 40 Hz oscillations, and near-infrared spectroscopy findings. Similar effects were seen after the application of multimodal stimuli and when the master concentrated on intense imagined stimuli (e.g. 22.2% increase in mean blood flow velocity (vm) in the posterior cerebral artery, and a simultaneous 23.1% decrease of vm in the middle cerebral artery). Similar effects were seen in the female subject. Neuromonitoring during QiGong appears able to objectify accompanied cerebral modulations surrounding this old Chinese meditation exercise.
Litscher
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Biomedical Engineering Unit, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 29, A-8036 Graz, Austria. gerhard.litscher@kfunigraz.ac.at
Wenzel
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Niederwieser
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Schwarz
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D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000523:psychology; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial