Gray matter areas related to memory, empathy and stress are transformed considerably
j. from Jorge / Madrid
Meditation can cause considerable changes in brain structures
It is not said by a group new age, or lovers of pseudoscience or false spirituality, but a team of psychiatrists led by the Massachusetts General Hospital, which has conducted the first study that documents how to exercise Meditation can affect the brain. According to their conclusions, published in Psychiatry Research, the practice of a meditation program for eight weeks can cause considerable changes in brain regions related to memory, self-awareness, empathy and stress. That is, something considered spiritual, physically transforms us and can improve our well-being and our health.
Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of tranquility and physical relaxation, doctors have long claimed that meditation n also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day, explains psychiatrist Sara Lazar, lead author of the study. The new research shows that changes in brain structure may be behind those demonstrated benefits, and that people don't feel better just because they have relaxed, he says.
Lazar had already conducted previous studies in which he had found structural differences between the brains of meditation professionals, with experience in this type of practice, and individuals without a background, such as, for example, a greater thickness of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But then the researcher could not confirm whether this process had been the result of simply having spent a few moments of reflection.
Consciousness without prejudice
For the current study, the scientists took magnetic resonance imaging of the brain structure of 16 volunteers two weeks before and after taking an eight-week meditation course, a program to reduce stress coordinated by the University of Massachusetts. In addition to the weekly meetings, which included the practice of conscious meditation, which focuses on awareness without prejudice to sensations and feelings, volunteers received audio recordings to continue with Your thoughts at home.
Participants in the meditation group spent 27 minutes each day practicing these exercises. Their answers to a medical questionnaire indicated significant improvements compared to the answers before the course. The analysis of magnetic resonance imaging found an increase in gray matter density in the hippocampus, an area of the brain important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection. In addition, a decrease in gray matter was discovered in the cerebral tonsil, a set of neuron nuclei located in the depth of the temporal lobes, which is related to a decrease in stress. None of these changes were observed in the control group formed by other volunteers, which shows that they were not the result only of the passage of time.
"It is fascinating to see the plasticity of the brain and how, through the practice of meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life, " says Britta Hölzel, lead author of the study. The finding opens the door to new therapies for patients suffering from severe stress problems, such as those who endure acute post-traumatic stress after a bad experience.
Source: http://www.abc.es/20110127/ciencia/abci-ocho-semanas-meditacion-pueden-201101271127.html
