Is it a coincidence the quotes we revere most for their insightful influence on society come from monks and contemplative thinkers?
Harvard-affiliated researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital insist the finely attuned mental acuity of these philosophic minds is the product of meditation.
The notion a calm physical state enables one to acquire a level of awareness unobtainable to the multi-tasking frenetic pace so many of us keep, was highlighted in a recent neurological study published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.
Once again science suggests our mind and bodies are synergistic by nature and inducing peace in the body not only benefits uptight muscles but allows the mind to think more clearly, creatively and to do so for longer.
Participating in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program resulted in measurable changes to the brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress. The results of this study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain’s gray matter.
Previous studies from Lazar’s group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced meditation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation.
For the current study, magnetic resonance (MR) images were taken of the brain structure of 16 study participants two weeks before and after they took part in the eight week mediation program. Participants reported spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness exercises, and their responses to a mindfulness questionnaire indicated significant improvements compared with pre-participation responses.
The analysis of MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection.
Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased gray-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress. Although no change was seen in a self-awareness-associated structure called the insula, which had been identified in earlier studies, the authors suggest that longer-term meditation practice might be needed to produce changes in that area. None of these changes were seen in the control group, indicating that they had not resulted merely from the passage of time.
“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,” says Britta Hölzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany.
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Related study from the Shambhala Times on Measuring the Effects of Meditation.
Conscious-based Education practicing Transcendental Meditation® to improve Academic Achievement research and method.
