11 NOV 2005
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/051111_medidate.html
Meditate
on This: Buddhist Tradition Thickens Parts of the Brain
By
LiveScience Staff
Posted: 11 November 2005 09:54 am ET
Meditation
alters brain patterns in ways that are
likely permanent, scientists have known.
But a new
study shows key parts of the brain actually get
thicker through
the practice.
Brain
imaging of regular working folks who meditate
regularly revealed increased
thickness in cortical
regions related to sensory, auditory and visual
perception,
as well as internal perception -- the
automatic monitoring of heart rate or
breathing, for
example.
The
study also indicates that regular meditation may
slow age-related thinning
of the frontal cortex.
"What
is most fascinating to me is the suggestion that
meditation practice can change
anyone's gray matter,"
said study team member Jeremy Gray, an assistant
professor
of psychology at Yale. "The study
participants were people with jobs and
families. They
just meditated on average 40 minutes each day, you
don't
have to be a monk."
The
research was led by Sara Lazar, assistant in
psychology at Massachusetts General
Hospital. It is
detailed in the November issue of the journal
NeuroReport.
The
study involved a small number of people, just 20.
All had extensive training
in Buddhist Insight
meditation. But the researchers say the results are
significant.
Most
of the brain regions identified to be changed
through meditation were found
in the right hemisphere,
which is essential for sustaining attention. And
attention
is the focus of the meditation.
Other
forms of yoga and meditation likely have a
similar impact on brain structure,
the researchers
speculate, but each tradition probably has a slightly
different
pattern of cortical thickening based on the
specific mental exercises involved.