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Meditation Proven to Boost Brain Efficiency

R. Colin Johnson | Date: 09-27-10 | Comments

A team of researchers at the University of Oregon proves that meditation positively alters the structure of the brain.

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Meditation Proven to Boost Brain Efficiency
Meditation was once the domain of fringe groups bent on instilling life-changing attitudes into their inductees by getting them to slow down, take deep breaths and let the stress melt away. Unproven until now, Chinese and U.S. researchers claim to have scientific evidence that guided meditation introduces positive structural changes in the brain, which help people regulate goal-oriented behaviors without all the stress.

The research team led by professor Yi-Yuan Tang of Dalian University of Technology, working in collaboration with University of Oregon psychologist Michael I. Posner, found that just 11 hours of guided meditation is all you need to make positive structural changes in your brain. Their technique, called integrative body-mind training (IBMT), has been developed in China over the last two decades, but finally its positive benefits have been measured with the help of brain-imaging technology at the University of Oregon.

The research project, sanctioned by the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, trained 45 University of Oregon students, half in IBMT and half in traditional stress-reducing "relaxation" training. Before and after each training session, the subjects' brain functions were measured with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called diffusion tensor imaging. By examining the fibers that connect neurons together in the brain, the researchers were able to observe positive changes in the portion of the brain that regulates emotions and behaviors, called the anterior cingulate cortex. Changes in connectivity were observed in the test group, but not in the control group, after just 6 hours of IBMT and became statistically significant after just 11 hours.

After just 11 hours of guided meditation, increases in fiber strength (colored) can be measured in the anterior cingulate cortex.

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