Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: STEPHANY CAMPANELLI ESMAILE

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : STEPHANY CAMPANELLI ESMAILE
DATE: 10/02/2024
TIME: 14:30
LOCAL: Sala 1 PPg Psicobiologia
TITLE:

Physiological and psychological effects associated with nasal breathing and yoga breathing techniques

KEY WORDS:

Ujjayi; Pranayama; Neuroscience; Electrophysiology; Psychometric Scales.

PAGES: 135
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Psicologia
SUMMARY:

This thesis was divided into a general introduction, five chapters (one for each article) and a general discussion. Of the five articles, three are systematic reviews based on PRISMA filtering recommendations and two are experimental research with healthy volunteers, all written in English. The first review entitled “Pranayamas and their neurophysiological effects” has already been published and aimed to describe the influence of yogic breathing exercises on the human brain and mind. After filtering 1,588 articles, the final 14 articles showed that (pranayamas) in general terms promote: clinical improvement in patients with aphasia (Surya Bedhana); reduced cerebral theta oscillation, increased gamma oscillation in the left medial temporal lobe, and increased inhibitory response (self-control) during a reaction time task (Bhramari); immediate reduction in visual and auditory reaction times and hypocapnia (Bhastrika); increased parasympathetic activity  (Kumbhaka). Due to the scarcity of studies aimed at observing the function of the olfactory bulb in the modulation of neurophysiology and human behavior, the second review “The Breathing Mind”, based on animal models, was necessary to better elucidate the relevance of nasal breathing at a cognitive level. Of 59 articles, 8 were selected to discuss this subject. Also considering the clinical application of complementary practices such as Yoga in one of the mental disorders that most affect the world's population, the third review "Yoga and Depression" filtered 11 articles from 162, presenting significant data regarding the improvement of symptoms in depressive patients. The last two revisions are expected to be submitted in April/2023. Regarding the two experimental studies, one was entirely online during the critical period of COVID-19 pandemic with the application of psychometric scales. THe other one followed the same protocol (Ujjayi pranayama video classes) with the addition of physiological analyzes (eg. EEG, respiratory belt, salivary cortisol) and reduced intervention time (from 12 to 8 weeks). Both studies have already completed the collection stage, but the second “The physiological and psychological effects of ujjayi pranayama” is still in the process of data analysis at the Brain Institute of UFRN, while the first “Long term psychological effects of a Ujjayi pranayama training” is already being written for submission with the following results: before the intervention we had N = 72, in the first questionnaire. In the middle of the intervention, after 6 weeks, we had N = 31, in the second questionnaire. At the end of the 12 weeks, we had N = 27, in the third questionnaire. Of these, 18 had a frequency equal to or greater than 50% (24 of 48 practices). Of the final 18 volunteers, 1 was male. In order to make the sample homogeneous, we opted for N = 17 women, 1 from DF, 4 from ES, 5 from RN and 7 from RS (Brazilian States). From all psychometric scales, the mind wandering (MEWS), perceived stress (PSS) and interoceptive awareness (MAIA) scales had a significant p value by the ANOVA statistical test, with the difference between week 0 and week 12 for the three questionnaires, between week 6 and week 12 for MEWS and between week 0 and week 6 for MAIA. Correlating these scales, we only obtained a significant difference between MEWS and PPS: week 0 with r = 0.68 and p = 0.003, week 6 with r = 0.494 and p = 0.044, week 12 with r = 0.547 and p = 0.023. We can conclude, up to the present moment of this PhD qualification, that the Ujjayi pranayama promotes a reduction in perceived stress and mind wandering (which have a positive correlation), in addition to a significant increase in the interoceptive awareness of the volunteers after 12 weeks of intervention.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1696755 - BRUNO LOBAO SOARES
Interno - 2316116 - FELIPE NALON CASTRO
Interno - 2190521 - HINDIAEL AERAF BELCHIOR