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Abstract
This study aims at comparing the effects of the Baduanjin mind-body (BMB) intervention with a conventional relaxation training program on enhancing the executive function. The study also attempts to explore the neural substrates underlying the cognitive effect of BMB intervention using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique. Forty-two healthy college students were randomly allocated into either the Baduanjin intervention group or relaxation training (control) group. Training lasted for 8 weeks (90 min/day, 5 days/week). Each participant was administered the shortened Profile of Mood States to evaluate their mood status and the flanker task to evaluate executive function before and after training. While performing the flanker task, the NIRS data were collected from each participant. After training, individuals who have participated in BMB exercise showed a significant reduction in depressive mood compared with the same measure before the intervention. However, participants in the control group showed no such reduction. The before vs. after measurement difference in the flanker task incongruent trails was significant only for the Baduanjin intervention group. Interestingly, an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin in the left prefrontal cortex was observed during the Incongruent Trails test only after the BMB exercise intervention. These findings implicate that Baduanjin is an effective and easy-to-administering mind-body exercise for improving executive function and perhaps brain self-regulation in a young and healthy population.
Highlights
As an important concept of traditional Chinese medicine theories, mind-body training emphasizes the interaction between the brain, the mind, and the body (Chan et al, 2009a), with qigong, tai chi, and yoga being the most frequently used techniques
This study revealed that BMD exercise may have a significant mood-enhancing effect on college students even with just 8 weeks of training
Individuals who participated in the Baduanjin mind-body (BMB) exercise showed significant reduction in depressive mood compared with those who participated in the relaxation exercise
Summary
As an important concept of traditional Chinese medicine theories, mind-body training emphasizes the interaction between the brain, the mind, and the body (Chan et al, 2009a), with qigong, tai chi, and yoga being the most frequently used techniques. A growing number of empirical studies have reported that doing mind-body exercise regularly has a positive impact on emotional and psychological processes in clinical and normal populations (Sandlund and Norlander, 2000; Chou et al, 2004; Wang et al, 2004). Yoga practice was associated with a linear increase in associative attention and positive affective valence (Mackenzie et al, 2014). Another randomized controlled study showed therapeutic benefits on reducing intake of antidepressants, improving depressive symptoms, and enhancing attentional abilities in patients with depression after a 10-session Chinese Chan-based Dejian mindbody intervention (DMBI) (Chan et al, 2013). Similar effects were observed on primary school children after 4 months of DMBI (Brown et al, 1995), healthy adults after 1-month Shaolin Dan Tian Breathing (DTB) (Chan et al, 2011a), college students (Liu et al, 2008; Chen and Liu, 2013), and elderly individuals (Chen, 2013; Zhang and Ai, 2013) after 12 weeks of Eight-Brocade Exercise
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