Meditation is often associated with stress relief, but a recent study shows that it may actually cause beneficial changes to our brain structure. People who meditate regularly (defined in the study as six hours per week) for at least one year were found to have a thicker cerebral cortex and more gray matter. Both of these areas are related to higher cognitive functions like learning, memory, decision-making, and focused attention. Even lighter amounts of meditation have been shown to have structural effects- meditating weekly for four years has been associated with a higher number of gyri in the cerebral cortex, which may result in better information processing. In terms of specific behavioral benefits, meditation has been linked to better multitasking and concentration, and its stress-battling effects may also help us focus (which in turn helps us succeed in learning and other cognitive tasks).
Still, these associations are far from concrete. These studies have shown a significant correlation between meditation and cortex structure, but they haven't shown any causation. And while scientists have speculated about how meditation might cause structural changes, so far there is no proof for any mechanism. Some researchers think that practicing the focused attention required for meditation alters our neural connections in a way that helps us maintain focus on other tasks and ignore interruptions. But so far, this hypothesis has not been proven. And besides, even the presumed benefits that it explains have been cast into doubt. Separate studies have failed to show long-term increases in cognitive ability, or even any increases at all. It has also been suggested that some studies linking meditation with cognitive benefits are flawed, and that improvements are only seen because they are anticipated. Different results from different studies may also depend on what type of meditation is being studied, and how individuals react to different styles.
Overall, the effects of meditation on cognition have not been not conclusively established, and more research is needed to show whether it affects our brain structure. But in the meantime, it might be worth a shot.
Original news source: http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/10/can-meditation-make-you-smarter/, taken from http://greatist.com/happiness/can-meditation-make-smarter/
I appreciate your post about the correlation between meditation and changes in brain structure. While there is not concrete evidence for this correlation, it makes sense to me why this could be so. When we learn, our brain changes. Through meditation, one is learning to relax and quiet his or her thoughts. While the goal of some types of meditation is to "think of nothing," one who is practicing this type of meditation is still learning to think of nothing. Brain activity may be calmer, but learning is still taking place and the brain is changing as a result.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you stated, "Some researchers think that practicing the focused attention required for meditation alters our neural connections in a way that helps us maintain focus on other tasks and ignore interruptions." This statement made me think of something I recently learned in class regarding working memory. Dr.Vogel proposed that maybe the difference between people with high working memory and low working memory is not in the proficiency in activating what needs to be used to perform a certain task, but in the proficiency in deactivating what doesn’t need to be used to perform that task. If meditation helps maintain focus on important factors relevant to a task and helps one learn to ignore interruptions, maybe this same benefit can be observed in working memory tasks.
I enjoyed your post regarding the correlation between meditation and changes in brain structure, and am now also interested in studies that correlate effects of meditation on memory.
This is an interesting idea to think about; meditation can help so many things simply because when we meditate we are calm and are not letting our mind wander.
ReplyDeleteMeditation sounds especially helpful considering what was mentioned today in class about memory consolidation. Memories encoding does not occur at a single moment in time, but is rather consolidated over a period of 45 to even 90 days after the event happens. This consolidation occurs best when the brain is not working—when it is in “default mode.” This includes meditation! This is probably one of the reasons people who meditate have better memories and focused attention; they are able to consolidate memories better, and are able to place themselves in a calm(er) state of mind in order to focus on one thing while ignoring things that are irrelevant.
Despite the idea that our brains change when we learn by altering (strengthening) neural connections, I would not have guessed that meditation actually physically is correlated with an increased thickness of the cerebral cortex and gray matter. I am quite curious to see if the causation could be found and the mechanism behind it. However, it is understandable that causation is hard to find because of the possibility of anticipated findings clouding the real effect. This is also a potential problem that many other studies need to battle with.
Regardless of whether or not studies have shown causation, mediation is always a good way to go!