Positive Technology Journal

Via Mind Hacks

A new study published in the journal NeuroReport has found evidence that meditation alters brain patterns. The MRI experiment involved 20 participants with extensive Insight meditation experience. Most of the brain regions identified to be changed through meditation were found in the right hemisphere, which is essential for sustaining attention.

Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve DN, Treadway MT, McGarvey M, Quinn BT, Dusek JA, Benson H, Rauch SL, Moore CI, Fischl B., Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport. 2005 Nov 28;16(17):1893-1897.

Abstract. Previous research indicates that long-term meditation practice is associated with altered resting electroencephalogram patterns, suggestive of long lasting changes in brain activity. We hypothesized that meditation practice might also be associated with changes in the brain's physical structure. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess cortical thickness in 20 participants with extensive Insight meditation experience, which involves focused attention to internal experiences. Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Between-group differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning. Finally, the thickness of two regions correlated with meditation experience. These data provide the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.