EFFICACY OF PRANAYAMIC BREATHING ON COGNITION AND BALANCE IN PARKINSON’S PATIENTS Neha Singh * 1 , K. Senthil. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Neurosciences, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam College of Physiotherapy, PIMS, Loni-413736, Maharashtra, India. Associate Professor, Thanthai  Roever College of Physiotherapy, The Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Perambalur-621212, Chennai, India. CORRESPONDENCE:    Dr   Neha   Singh   (PT),   Assistant   Professor,   Dr   A.   P.   J.      Abdul   Kalam   College   of   Physiotherapy,   PIMS,   Loni-413736,   Maharashtra,   India. Phone No: +91 9420327591  E-Mail:  drneha9559@gmail.com ABSTRACT Purpose:  To investigate the effects of Pranayamic breathing on cognition and balance in Parkinson’s patients. Introduction:   Recent   researches   have   shown   that   pranayamic   breathing   shifts   autonomic   nervous   system   away   from   sympathetic   dominance.   Other physical disorders that are caused by improper mental health have excellent cure through pranayamic breathing exercises. Materials   and   Methods:   Twenty   Parkinson’s   patients   between   50-80   years   of   age   and   stage   3   of   Hoehn   &   Yahr   scale   were   selected   purposively   and   were randomly   divided   into   two   groups.   Group   A   received   pranayamic   breathing   with   conventional   physiotherapy   for   4   days   a   week   for   4   weeks.   Group   B received   conventional   physiotherapy.   Mini   Mental   State   Examination   (MMSE),   Timed   Get   Up   Go   (TUG),   Tinetti’s   Performance   Oriented   Mobility   Assessment (POMA) were used to assess cognition and balance. Analysis:   To   compare   values   of   MMSE,   TUG   test   and   POMA   at   the   end   of   trial   in   each   group,   repeated   measure   ANOVA   with   Bonferroni   test   was   used.   To compare those differences between two groups univariate ANOVA was used. A level of significance was p<0.05. Results:   Comparison   of   MMSE   and   POMA   score   was   found   to   be   statistically   significant   in   group   A   (p<0.05).   Comparison   of   TUG   score   at   the   end   of   trial   in each   group   was   found   to   be   statistically   insignificant   (p>0.05).   Comparison   of   MMSE,   TUG   and   POMA   score   at   the   end   of   week   4   in   both   group   was   found   to statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion:   This   study   concluded,   pranayamic   breathing   with   conventional   physiotherapy   has   shown   improvement   in   cognition   and   balance   in   Parkinson’s patients. 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