[LINK] o/t Meditation Evidence

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH JOURNAL

Volume 191, Issue 1, Pages 36-43 (30 January 2011)
<http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/S0925-4927(10)00288-X/abstract>

  
Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter 
density

Britta K. Hölzelab, James Carmodyc, Mark Vangela, Christina Congletona, 
Sita M. Yerramsettia, Tim Gardab and Sara W. Lazara.

Abstract:

Therapeutic interventions that incorporate training in mindfulness 
meditation have become increasingly popular, but to date little is known 
about neural mechanisms associated with these interventions. 

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), one of the most widely used 
mindfulness training programs, has been reported to produce positive 
effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate symptoms of a 
number of disorders. 

Here, we report a controlled longitudinal study to investigate pre–post 
changes in brain gray matter concentration attributable to participation 
in an MBSR program. 

Anatomical magnetic resonance (MR) images from 16 healthy, meditation-
naïve participants were obtained before and after they underwent the 8-
week program. 

Changes in gray matter concentration were investigated using voxel-based 
morphometry, and compared with a waiting list control group of 17 
individuals. 

Analyses in a priori regions of interest confirmed increases in gray 
matter concentration within the left hippocampus. 

Whole brain analyses identified increases in the posterior cingulate 
cortex, the temporo-parietal junction, and the cerebellum in the MBSR 
group compared with the controls. 

The results suggest that participation in MBSR is associated with changes 
in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and 
memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and 
perspective taking.

--
 
How Meditation May Change the Brain

By SINDYA N. BHANOO  www.nytimes.com  January 28, 2011 (snip)

 .. Scientists say that meditators may be benefiting from changes in 
their brains. 

The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a 
day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in 
parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and 
stress. 

The findings will appear in the Jan. 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: 
Neuroimaging. (Abstract above)

M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation 
regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important 
for learning and memory. 

The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a 
region connected to anxiety and stress. 

A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes.

Britta Hölzel, a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and 
Harvard Medical School and the study’s lead author, said the participants 
practiced mindfulness meditation, a form of meditation that was 
introduced in the United States in the late 1970s. 

It traces its roots to ancient Buddhist techniques.

"The main idea is to use different objects to focus one’s attention, and 
it could be a focus on sensations of breathing, or emotions or thoughts, 
or observing any type of body sensations," she said. 

"But it’s about bringing the mind back to the here and now, as opposed to 
letting the mind drift."

Generally the meditators are seated upright on a chair or the floor and 
in silence, although sometimes there might be a guide leading a session, 
Dr. Hölzel said.

"The field is very, very young, and we don’t really know enough about it 
yet," Dr. Hölzel said. 

"I would say these are still quite preliminary findings. We see that 
there is something there, but we have to replicate these findings and 
find out what they really mean."

It has been hard to pinpoint the benefits of meditation, but a 2009 study 
suggests that meditation may reduce blood pressure in patients with 
coronary heart disease. 

And a 2007 study found that meditators have longer attention spans.

Previous studies have also shown that there are structural differences 
between the brains of meditators and those who don’t meditate, although 
this new study is the first to document changes in gray matter over time 
through meditation.

Ultimately, Dr. Hölzel said she and her colleagues would like to 
demonstrate how meditation results in definitive improvements in people’s 
lives.

"A lot of studies find that it increases well-being, improves quality of 
life, but it’s always hard to determine how you can objectively test 
that," she said. 

"Relatively little is known about the brain and the psychological 
mechanisms about how this is being done."

In a 2008 study published in the journal PloS One, researchers found that 
when meditators heard the sounds of people suffering, they had stronger 
activation levels in their temporal parietal junctures, a part of the 
brain tied to empathy, than people who did not meditate.

"They may be more willing to help when someone suffers, and act more 
compassionately," Dr. Hölzel said ..

--

Cheers,
Stephen