Does Meditation Change the Brain? — Part 3
“????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????????
????? ??????? ????????? ?? ??????? ???? ??????????
(Meaning: May all be happy. May all be healthy.
May we all experience what is good and may no one face suffering).”
Readers of this Forum will be familiar with the above mantra often chanted at the end of Vedic discourses.This popular Universal Prayer is the basic principle behind the Compassion Meditation practiced by Tibetan Buddhists who pray for universal good and welfare. Thanks to the commendable encouragemment and support of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the active participation of the Tibetan Buddhist Monks, Scientists have been studying the effects of Compassion Meditation on the brain for several decades first at the Wisconsin-Madison University and later also at Emory University. One of the significant initial findings of the research was the spontaneuous gamma activity seen in the brain scans of the monks with long hours of practising Compassion Meditation. The gamma activity in the left prefrontal cortex is found to be several times higher leading to a happy state of mind. A TED talk on Happiness given in 2004 by Matthieu Ricard - a PhD in Molecular genetics and Buddhist Monk of several decades – can be watched at:
http://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness.html
In a report just published, it was found that the right amygdala activity decreased as a result of improved emotional stability and response to stress in meditators. But there was an increased activity because of their compassionate feelings when these meditators were shown negative images which depicted some form of human suffering. Increased amygdala activation was correlated with decreased depression scores in this group suggesting that having more compassion towards others may also be beneficial for oneself.
We are all familiar with the often purposeless mind chatter that goes on in our heads when we are not focused on a task. This is called as ‘mind wandering.’ Almost a half of our wakeful time goes in mind wandering. It may have had some evolutionary advantage in the past but it appears to have substantial downsides in the secure environments that we live in the present days. Mind wandering can lead to “impaired task performance” and may even prove to be some times dangerous as when driving. It can also lead one to “negative emotions.” A recent study has demonstrated that people are less happy when their minds are wandering. ”Mindfulness meditation” helps in reducing the prevalence of uncontrolled thoughts by helping one to be aware of one’s own ongoing mental activity.
Elements of mindfulness meditation have been absorbed into several therapeutic systems, such as ‘mindfulness-based stress reduction’ and ‘mindfulness-based cognitive therapy’ in the treatment of of attention deficit disorder, psychosomatic disorders, and depression. The lab studies suggest that ‘processes supported by the default mode network are more accessible to monitoring and control in experienced meditators’ and hence mindfulness meditation helps in efficiently reducing neural processes associated with mind wandering and task-independent thoughts. Zen meditation (a kind of mindfulness meditation) also has similar effects.
Another recent study found that ‘mindfulness meditation practice is associated with slower body movements which in turn may lead to an increase in monitoring of body states and optimized re-adjustment of movement trajectory, and consequently to better motor performance.’ Taking advantage of this, one can use meditational techniques in training athletes.
Training adults in mindfulness meditation reduced their feeling of lonliness and their blood samples showed decreased pro-inflammatory gene expression in the immune cells.
Meditation is a superb technique that takes advantage of the ‘plasticity’ of the brain in bringing about not only better physical health but also wholesome mental attitude to the practioner. It also helps in achieving improved human relationships, balanced response under stressful conditions, emotional stability and greater motor control in order to excell in one’s own skills. Meditation is quite affective even on short durations of pracitce and gives salutary results for the young as well as the old.
The present Neuroscientific studies do go to establish the usefulness of various meditational techniques practised from times immemorial in the Eastern philosophical and religious systems.
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A report dated 14 Nov 2012 from Scientific American:
“A new study from the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that adults who practiced mindful meditation or moderately intense exercise for eight weeks suffered less from seasonal ailments during the following winter. The big news is that mindfulness meditation training appears to have worked in preventing or reducing the length of colds.”
