Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness

doi:10.1097/01.WNR.0000186598.66243.19

Paper

Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness

Published Nov 28, 2005 · S. Lazar, C. Kerr, Rachel H. Wasserman

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80

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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.

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Key takeawayMeditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness in brain regions related to attention, interoception, and sensory processing.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness

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References

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Long-term Buddhist practitioners self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during meditation, suggesting that mental training may induce short-term and long-term neural changes.

Neurolinguistics: Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain

Learning a second language increases grey matter density in the left inferior parietal cortex, with the degree of structural reorganization influenced by proficiency and age at acquisition.

Temporal plasticity in the primary auditory cortex induced by operant perceptual learning

Operant perceptual learning improves temporal processing in the primary auditory cortex, potentially through enhanced cortical response dynamics.

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