Impact of Yoga Versus Memory Enhancement Training on Hippocampal Connectivity in Older Women at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular, hippocampus, memoryAbstract
This research investigates the differential effects of Kundalini yoga (KY) and memory enhancement training (MET) on resting-state hippocampal connectivity in older women with subjective memory decline and cardiovascular risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using a randomized controlled trial design, we examined changes in hippocampal subregion connectivity following 12 weeks of either KY or MET. Our results indicate that KY is associated with increased connectivity between a left anterior hippocampal subregion and ventral visual stream regions, correlating with reduced perceived stress. In contrast, MET showed increased connectivity between posterior hippocampal subregions and default mode/frontoparietal networks, which was associated with a lower frequency of forgetting. These findings suggest that KY and MET may engage distinct neural pathways, potentially offering complementary benefits for individuals at risk for AD.
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