Scientific Research on Maharishi Ayurveda

neurophysiology > neurophysiology study 1

Neurophysiology and Intelligence Study #1

Title
The Effect of the Maharishi Student Rasayana Food Supplement on Non-Verbal Intelligence

Publication
Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 599-602, 1993.

Authors
Sanford I. Nidich,* Paul Morehead,* Randi J. Nidich,* David Sands,** and Hari Sharma.†

Conducted at
**Department of Science of Creative Intelligence and Education, and
**Department of Physiological and Biological Sciences, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA 52556
† The Ohio State University, College of Medicine, Columbus, OH

Summary
Research shows that IQ is a strong predictor of student academic performannce. Previous studies have found that increasing the intake of vitamins and minerals improves non-verbal intelligence. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of an herbal food supplement, Maharishi Ayurvedaa Student Rasayana (MA-SR), on non-verbal intelligence.

The 5-month study consisted of 34 third-grade students who were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a placebo group. The MA-SR group exhibited a 9.83 point increase in IQ compared to 4.88 points for the placebo group.

Analysis of the data indicated that a significant proportion of students in the MA-SR group (78%) compared to that of the placebo group (50%) showed an improvement in IQ which exceeded that of the test-retest effect. Additional statistical analysis further indicated that taking MA-SR improves IQ.