Impact of Long-Term Shaolin Zen Meditation on Emotional Processing in Aging: A Visual ERP Study.
Huang Gu, Tiantian Liang, Zhaoyang Xin, Zilu Lu, Qiaoling Li, Hao Hong
Behavioral Sciences June 19, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/bs13060513 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | Monks with long-term Shaolin Zen meditation experience and controls without meditation experience |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Erp Shaolin zen meditation Aging Cognition Emotion |
| Key findings | Age-related degenerative changes in early ERP components were absent in long-term Shaolin Zen meditators but present in controls, suggesting meditation counteracts age-related decline in automatic emotional processing. |
Abstract
The aging process is always accompanied by a decline in cognitive and emotional functions. Although previous studies have identified the positive effects of different meditative practices on emotional and cognitive functions, few studies have investigated the most primitive Chinese meditation-Shaolin Zen meditation. In particular, data are extremely limited regarding the brain mechanism of the effects of Shaolin Zen meditation on cognitive and emotional functions during aging. The current study aimed to explore the effects of long-term Shaolin Zen meditation practice on event-related potentials (ERPs) during facial emotion recognition in aging. ERPs were recorded from 16 monks with long-term meditation experience and 20 controls without meditation experience. The significant age-related degenerative changes in the early ERP components did not present in the meditators but only in the controls without meditation experience. Additionally, we found no group differences in the late P3 component. These findings suggest that long-term Shaolin Zen meditation practice can counteract the age-related cognitive decline in the "down-top" automatic processing of emotional stimuli.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Zen priests and disciples of Zen sects of Buddhism | 1966 | Observational study | n = 48 |
| “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation Regular Zen practitioners and matched control subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Healthy adults who had not previously practiced any form of meditation | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion 20 Zen meditation experts and 20 healthy matched non-meditators | 2016 | Observational cohort | n = 40 |
| EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure Experienced Zen meditation practitioners and matched controls | 2009 | Observational cohort | n = 46 |
Citations in the library
Cites 22
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Cognitive-Affective Neural Plasticity following Active-Controlled Mindfulness Intervention Journal of Neuroscience October 31, 2012
- Why could meditation practice help promote mental health and well-being in aging? Alzheimer's Research & Therapy June 22, 2018
- The Neural Mechanisms of Meditative Practices: Novel Approaches for Healthy Aging Current behavioral neuroscience reports October 18, 2016
and 17 more in the library