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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic situation has forced a shift in medical education from physical classroom to virtual online teaching. However, students and teachers perceive this differently. It is important to study these perceptions to improve the teaching–learning process, and thus to validate the role of online learning in the country. Objective: To document the process of a pilot for a questionnaire-based study regarding perception of undergraduate medical students towards on-going online classes. Methods: Medical Education Department of a teaching hospital developed a new questionnaire with the primary objective of studying the satisfaction and usefulness of the online classes (e-Learning). Content validity was done. For the pilot work, 10% of the total student strength was targeted. Random purposive sampling from each phase of the undergraduate course was done to choose the participants. The questionnaire was administered via Google Classroom. It was an external, undeclared type of pilot. All the responses were documented and analysed for both changes in the questions as well as for statistical sample size derivation for the main study. Results: Responses from 30 students were analysed for the pilot study. Based on the proportion of the level of satisfaction (23.3%) and usefulness (23.3%) of the on-going online classes observed, and with 20% relative precision and 95% confidence, the minimum sample size for the main study was calculated. The responses revealed the need for minor changes in the questionnaire tool for overall feasibility and achievement of the objectives of the main study. Conclusions: A pilot study is a necessary component for a research project, especially when it involves the use of a new tool. This paper shows the relevance of the same. The authors intend to convey the importance of documenting the processes of conduct of a pilot study, the issues involved therein, and the steps taken to resolve the same.

Objective: We aimed to study the short-term effects of Integrated Amrita Meditation (IAM) technique in anxiety and depression states and to have a better understanding on the underlying physiological changes related to short-term and long-term IAM practice.Design: Short-term IAM practitioners (ST-IAM) and long-term IAM practitioners (LT-IAM) were compared to control groups of the same age and naïve to yoga and meditation (ST-control and LT-control, respectively).Settings/Location: Kerala, India. Subjects: People that did not suffer from any major medical condition. All participants were naïve to yoga and meditation practices, except for the 5 LT-IAM practitioners.Intervention: ST-IAM practitioners underwent 2 community IAM practices and 5 individual IAM practices. LT-IAM practitioners (performing IAM regularly for more than 4 years) underwent a community IAM practice before the study.Outcome measures: Anxiety and depression states and physiological parameters from ST-IAM and STcontrol groups were assed in two different visits (before and after the week of IAM practice or control condition). LT-IAM and LT-control subjects' physiological measurements were taken in only one visit.Results: Short-term IAM practice significantly decreased anxiety and depression states; two way ANOVA indicated differences on anxiety and depression scores across visits between ST-IAM and ST-control groups (Group effect: F (1, 25) = 6.083, p = 0.0209; F (1, 25) = 4.449, p = 0.0451). However, no changes were observed on their physiological parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and dopamine and GABA plasma levels). Interestingly, LT-IAM practitioners showed increased GABA plasma levels than the LT-control group ( p = 0.0358, t = 2.521, df = 8).Conclusions: Our study indicates the possible role of IAM technique on modulations of the plasma GABAergic levels and shows that one week of IAM practice is accompanied by a significant decrease of anxiety and depression states in the healthy population.