Reduced Age-Related Gray Matter Loss in the Orbitofrontal Cortex in Long-Term Meditators
Florian Kurth, Sarah Strohmaier, Eileen Luders
Brain Sciences December 6, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13121677 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 100 |
| Population | 50 long-term meditators and 50 matched controls |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Orbitofrontal cortex Context archaeology Audiology Developmental psychology Prefrontal cortex Cognition |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | Age-related decline in orbitofrontal cortex volume is less steep in long-term meditation practitioners compared to non-practitioners. |
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a functionally heterogeneous brain region contributing to mental processes relating to meditation practices. The OFC has been reported to decline in volume with increasing age and differs in volume between meditation practitioners and non-practitioners. We hypothesized that the age-related decline of the OFC is diminished in meditation practitioners. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of 50 long-term meditators and 50 matched controls by correlating chronological age with regional gray matter volumes of the left and right OFC, as well as in seven left and right cytoarchitectonically defined subregions of the OFC (Fo1-Fo7). In both meditators and controls, we observed a negative relationship between age and OFC (sub)volumes, indicating that older participants have smaller OFC volumes. However, in meditators, the age-related decline was less steep compared to controls. These age-related differences reached significance for left and right Fo2, Fo3, Fo4, and Fo7, as well as left Fo5 and right Fo6. Since different subregions of the OFC are associated with distinct brain functions, further investigations are required to explore the functional implications of these findings in the context of meditation and the aging brain.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Toward a Unified Model of Advanced Meditation, Human Development, Meditation Maps, and Transtradition Metaphors: Facing Impermanence, Suffering, and Death Mindfulness July 29, 2025
- Development and Validation of the Mindfulness Meditation Practice Quality Scales (MMPQS) in a Clinical Population Using Rasch Analysis Mindfulness September 23, 2026
- Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mindfulness Practice Doses in the General Population Through Personalization—A Randomized Controlled Experiment Mindfulness February 12, 2026
- Mindfulness Practice and Increases in Gray Matter Density, Gray Matter Volume, and Cortical Thickness: A Scoping Review. Brain Sciences April 30, 2026
- Sleep-Based Brain Age Is Reduced in Advanced Inner Engineering Meditators. Mindfulness 2025
and 1 more in the library
Cites 20
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- The Mindful Brain and Emotion Regulation in Mood Disorders The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry February 1, 2012
- Meditation effects within the hippocampal complex revealed by voxel-based morphometry and cytoarchitectonic probabilistic mapping Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Reduced age-associated brain changes in expert meditators: a multimodal neuroimaging pilot study Scientific Reports August 25, 2017
- Activation of the orbitofrontal cortex by both meditation and exercise: A near-infrared spectroscopy study. PLoS One February 23, 2021
and 15 more in the library