Meditation Increases Brain Size
Research Finds Meditation Thickens the Grey Matter of the Brain
Nov 28, 2008
The Study
It is already known that meditation changes the way our brain works, enhancing neural coordination. A new study found that meditation not only changes the physical structure of the brain, it even increases the size of the brain. Sara Lazar, psychologist at Harvard Medical School, compared brain scans of a group of experienced meditators with those of ordinary people without meditation experience. During the scan, the former were meditating, the latter simply relaxing.
The Findings
In this study, Lazar found that regular meditation increases the thickness of those brain areas connected with cognition and emotional processing and well-being. These sections of the cortex, or thinking cap, normally get thinner with age.
Lazars findings are consistent with other studies that showed how the corresponding areas of the brain grow thicker with repeated practice. Thus, a musician has a thicker ‘music area’, a dancer a thickened ‘motor skills area’ and so on. It wasn’t clear however, whether the completely internal activity of meditation would also have a similar effect.
Buddhist Insight Meditation
The meditation technique used in this study was a Buddhist insight meditation, which focuses on perceptions and body sensations and doesn’t make use of any religious or spiritual symbols, images or prayers. In this method, sensations and perceptions are simply recorded by the meditator instead of thinking about them. If no sensation is experienced, one simply pays attention to the breathing. This attitude is also known as mindfulness.
Can Meditation Stop Aging?
The well known concept of 'use it or lose it' has long been used in the context of the fitness and capacities of the aging brain. Old people are generally encouraged to keep up their cognitive and intellectual skills by training their brain in many ways such as crosswords, learning a language etcetera. The good news is that meditation seems to do exactly the same thing, and that in a very pleasant and effective manner.
While the findings of her study may encourage one to regard meditation as a simple tool that can work wonders, Lazar herself is more cautious about its effects on the aging brain. She agrees that the thinning of the grey matter of the brain is normally part of the aging process and that her study would therefore suggest that meditation can play an important role in reversing some of the negative effects of aging, such as decreasing capacities for memory and attention. However, she points out that meditation cannot reverse or hold off all the ailments of aging altogether. As she puts it in an article by William J. Cromie: "It's important to remember that monks and yogis suffer from the same ailments as the rest of us. They get old and die, too.”
Source:
Article by William J. Cromie from Harvard News Office, Harvard University.
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