The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter.
Eileen Luders, Arthur W Toga, Natasha Lepore, Christian Gaser
Neuroimage April 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.12.061 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional observational study Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 44 |
| Population | Long-term meditators and comparison subjects |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Magnetic resonance imaging Brain mapping |
| Key findings | Meditators showed significantly larger gray matter volumes in the right orbito-frontal cortex and right hippocampus, with further differences in the right thalamus and left inferior temporal gyrus under adjusted age or relaxed thresholds. The authors propose these regions' roles in emotional regulation and response control may account for meditators' emotional stability and mindful behavior, but note that causality cannot be established without longitudinal data. |
Abstract
Although the systematic study of meditation is still in its infancy, research has provided evidence for meditation-induced improvements in psychological and physiological well-being. Moreover, meditation practice has been shown not only to benefit higher-order cognitive functions but also to alter brain activity. Nevertheless, little is known about possible links to brain structure. Using high-resolution MRI data of 44 subjects, we set out to examine the underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation with different regional specificity (i.e., global, regional, and local). For this purpose, we applied voxel-based morphometry in association with a recently validated automated parcellation approach. We detected significantly larger gray matter volumes in meditators in the right orbito-frontal cortex (as well as in the right thalamus and left inferior temporal gyrus when co-varying for age and/or lowering applied statistical thresholds). In addition, meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the right hippocampus. Both orbito-frontal and hippocampal regions have been implicated in emotional regulation and response control. Thus, larger volumes in these regions might account for meditators' singular abilities and habits to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in mindful behavior. We further suggest that these regional alterations in brain structures constitute part of the underlying neurological correlate of long-term meditation independent of a specific style and practice. Future longitudinal analyses are necessary to establish the presence and direction of a causal link between meditation practice and brain anatomy.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cited by 168
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 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
- Breath of Life: The Respiratory Vagal Stimulation Model of Contemplative Activity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 9, 2018
and 163 more in the library
Cites 15
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2007
and 10 more in the library