Gray Matter Changes in Adolescents Participating in a Meditation Training
Justin P. Yuan, Colm G Connolly, Eva Henje, Leo P. Sugrue, Tony T. Yang, Duan Xu, Olga Tymofiyeva
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 14, 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00319 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal within-subjects with control period Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 38 |
| Population | Adolescents aged 16.48 ± 1.29 years |
| Interventions | Training for Awareness Resilience and Action (TARA) |
| Duration | 12-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Voxel-based morphometry Insula Putamen Brain size Neuroimaging Brain morphometry Grey matter Magnetic resonance imaging Audiology Clinical psychology Radiology |
| Citations | 21 |
| Key findings | Meditation training was associated with gray matter volume decreases in the left posterior insula, left thalamus, and left putamen in adolescents. |
Abstract
Meditation has shown to benefit a wide range of conditions and symptoms, but the neural mechanisms underlying the practice remain unclear. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have investigated the structural brain changes due to the practice by examining volume, density, or cortical thickness changes. However, these studies have focused on adults; meditation's structural effects on the adolescent brain remain understudied. In this study, we investigated how meditation training affects the structure of the adolescent brain by scanning a group of 38 adolescents (16.48 ± 1.29 years) before and after participating in a 12-week meditation training. Subjects underwent Training for Awareness, Resilience, and Action (TARA), a program that mainly incorporates elements from mindfulness meditation and yoga-based practices. A subset of the adolescents also received an additional control scan 12 weeks before TARA. We conducted voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to assess gray matter volume changes pre- to post-training and during the control period. Subjects showed significant gray matter (GM) volume decreases in the left posterior insula and to a lesser extent in the left thalamus and left putamen after meditation training. There were no significant changes during the control period. Our results support previous findings that meditation affects regions associated with physical and emotional awareness. However, our results are different from previous morphometric studies in which meditation was associated with structural increases. We posit that this discrepancy may be due to the differences between the adolescent brain and the adult brain.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Interoceptive brain network mechanisms of mindfulness-based training in healthy adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology 2024
- Self-Esteem Mediates the Effect of Yoga-Induced Mindfulness on Adolescents’ Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Pro-Social Behavior Youth & Society January 18, 2025
- The effects of mindfulness meditation on mechanisms of attentional control in young and older adults: a preregistered eye tracking study. eNeuro July 7, 2025
- Evaluation of facial temperature distribution changes during meditation using infrared thermal imaging: An experimental, cross-over study Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences July 27, 2023
- Clinical effectiveness of training for awareness, resilience, and action for adolescents and young adults with depression: The pilot phase of a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry March 31, 2023
and 1 more in the library
Cites 30
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience December 3, 2007
- Mindful attention reduces neural and self-reported cue-induced craving in smokers Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience November 22, 2011
- Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience April 24, 2013
and 25 more in the library