November 16, 2004 – Consistent practice of meditation over a long period of time appears to physically alter the brain, study finds1 published this week in the annals of the American Academy of Sciences.
The brain activity of eight Buddhist monks in meditation was compared to that of ten young students initiated, a week before the start of the study, to the practice of this mental training. Using electroencephalography, a team of researchers from Wisconsin detected a very sharp increase in high-frequency gamma waves in the brains of monks, while little change was seen in beginners. The increase in brain activity in monks was actually two to three times that of novices.
Gamma waves generally translate an intense mental activity of high level which would concern, among other things, the consciousness. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brains of all participants confirmed higher activity in Buddhist monks. The researchers estimated that among these long-time practitioners of traditional Tibetan meditation, the number of hours of practice could reach 10,000 to 50,000, over a period of 15 to 40 years.
Since previous studies associated the left prefrontal part of the cortex with positive emotions, it is interesting to note that the seat of intense activity of the monks was mainly located in this area of their brain, to the point of supplanting the activity of the part. right associated with negative emotions.
The monks were 34 to 64 years old and the novices 19 to 22 years old. In order to assess the influence of age on the results, the authors analyzed the brain profiles of the three youngest Buddhists with the control group, and they arrived at the same results. The analysis led the authors to say that it is the duration of the practice – and not the age – which creates the differences in the degree of activity of the gamma waves between the two groups.
Not only do Buddhist monks show more intense mental activity than novices when they are in a state of meditation, but this gap exists before the start of meditation. Tests also show that the effect is prolonged over time. The authors conclude that a long practice of meditation could change the physiology of the brain in the short and long term.
Marie france Coutu – PasseportSanté.net
According to Radio-Canada.
1. Lutz A, Greischar LL, et al, Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), November 16, 2004, Vol. 101, No 46, 16369-16373.
