Yoga para vencer la depresión

Practica yoga tiene efectos sobre los neurotransmisores del cerebro. Se ha demostrado que el ácido gammaminobutírico (GABA) cerebral, el principal inhibidor de la actividad cerebral.

Los ejercicios de yoga pueden ser un tratamiento para los trastornos depresivos y de ansiedad, condiciones que se acompañan de niveles bajos de GABA. Estas alteraciones mentales representan el 15% de las enfermedades de todo el mundo. Hasta ahora dichos trastornos han sido tratados con drogas que aumentan el GABA.

Usando la técnica de resonancia magnética espectroscópica, los investigadores estudiaron los niveles de GABA en 8 personas antes y después de una hora de yoga y se compararon con 11 personas que no hicieron yoga y leyeron durante una hora. Las personas que hicieron yoga aumento 27% los niveles de GABA en la resonancia.

El Dr. J. Eric Jensen, profesor de psiquiatría en el Hospital McLean de Boston, considera que el uso de yoga sería una forma barata para tratar los problemas mentales citados y con menos efectos adversos que los fármacos convencionales. Más información sobre el GABA:

What are GABA levels? Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) is a neurotransmitter that is inhibitory, that is, it decreases the ability of other neurotransmitters to work. GABA is involved in our level of excitability. Rather than encouraging communication between cells such as Dopamine, Serotonin or Norepinephrine - GABA reduces, discourages, and blocks communication. This neurotransmitter is important in brain areas involving emotion and anxiety.
When GABA is in the normal range in the brain, we are not overly aroused or anxious. At the same time, we have appropriate reactions to situations in our environment. GABA is the communication speed controller, making sure all brain communications are operating at the right speed and with the correct intensity. Too little GABA in the brain, the communication becomes out of control, overstimulated, and chemically unstable. Too much GABA and we are overly relaxed and sedated, often to the point that normal reactions are impaired.
Low levels of GABA are associated with Bipolar Disorder, Mania. With GABA levels below average, the brain is too stimulated. We begin talking rapidly, staying up for days at a time, and develop wild and grandiose ideas. In a Manic state, we are so “high” and out of control that social problems are quick to develop, often due to hypersexuality, excessive spending, reckless decisions, risk-taking behavior, and grandiose ideas. We may feel so good that we think we are a heavenly spirit, an intellectual genius, or possessing extraordinary powers. I personally had one patient who locked himself in his mobile home and spent one week rewriting the New Testament in “hillbilly”. Another, with limited education, began purchasing books on the Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein, sensing he may be able to use the information to invent “warp drive”.
Low levels of GABA are also associated with problems of poor impulse control, including clinical conditions such as gambling, temper tantrums, and stealing. When GABA is low in the brain, impulsive behaviors are not inhibited (stopped) by logical or reasonable thinking.

Mas información: Boston University

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