Rajyoga meditation induces grey matter volume changes in regions that process reward and happiness

Practicing Rajyoga meditation is associated with greater grey matter volume in brain regions involved in reward processing, such as the right superior frontal gyrus, left inferior orbitofrontal cortex, and bilateral precuneus, compared to non-meditators. Practitioners also reported higher happiness scores on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Among more experienced practitioners, happiness scores trended toward a positive correlation with hours of meditation experience. Multiple regression analysis linked happiness scores to several reward-related areas, including the right superior frontal gyrus, left middle orbitofrontal cortex, right insula, and left anterior cingulate cortex. With increasing practice hours, positive associations appeared in the bilateral ventral pallidum. These findings suggest that Rajyoga meditation may enhance neural plasticity in reward processing regions linked to happiness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Studies provide evidence that practicing meditation enhances neural plasticity in reward processing areas of brain. No studies till date, provide evidence of such changes in Rajyoga meditation (RM) practitioners. The present study aimed to identify grey matter volume (GMV) changes in reward processing areas of brain and its association with happiness scores in RM practitioners compared to non-meditators. Structural MRI of selected participants matched for age, gender and handedness (n = 40/group) were analyzed using voxel-based morphometric method and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) scores were correlated. Significant increase in OHQ happiness scores were observed in RM practitioners compared to non-meditators. Whereas, a trend towards significance was observed in more experienced RM practitioners, on correlating OHQ scores with hours of meditation experience. Additionally, in RM practitioners, higher GMV were observed in reward processing centers-right superior frontal gyrus, left inferior orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and bilateral precuneus. Multiple regression analysis showed significant association between OHQ scores of RM practitioners and reward processing regions right superior frontal gyrus, left middle OFC, right insula and left anterior cingulate cortex. Further, with increasing hours of RM practice, a significant positive association was observed in bilateral ventral pallidum. These findings indicate that RM practice enhances GMV in reward processing regions associated with happiness.