Neuroimaging of meditation's effect on brain reactivity to pain.
David W. Orme-Johnson, Robert H Schneider, Young D Son, Sanford Nidich, Zang-Hee Cho
Neuroreport August 21, 2006 DOI: 10.1097/01.wnr.0000233094.67289.a8 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLong-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique showed 40-50% fewer brain voxels responding to pain in the thalamus and total brain compared to matched controls. After controls learned the technique and practiced for 5 months, their pain response decreased by 40-50% in the thalamus, prefrontal cortex, total brain, and marginally in the anterior cingulate cortex. The findings suggest that Transcendental Meditation longitudinally reduces the affective/motivational dimension of the brain's response to pain.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique and healthy matched controls interested in learning the technique |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation technique |
| Duration | 5 months |
| Key finding | Transcendental Meditation practice reduces the brain's response to pain in the thalamus, prefrontal cortex, and total brain by 40-50%. |
Abstract
Some meditation techniques reduce pain, but there have been no studies on how meditation affects the brain's response to pain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the response to thermally induced pain applied outside the meditation period found that long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique showed 40-50% fewer voxels responding to pain in the thalamus and total brain than in healthy matched controls interested in learning the technique. After the controls learned the technique and practiced it for 5 months, their response decreased by 40-50% in the thalamus, prefrontal cortex, total brain, and marginally in the anterior cingulate cortex. The results suggest that the Transcendental Meditation technique longitudinally reduces the affective/motivational dimension of the brain's response to pain.