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Effect of meditation on stress-induced changes in cognitive functions.

Amit Mohan, Ratna Sharma, Ramesh L Bijlani

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine March 2011 DOI: 10.1089/acm.2010.0142 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Pre-post experimental design Peer reviewed
Sample size 32
Population Healthy adult male student volunteers who had never practiced meditation
Intervention Guided meditation
Dose 20 minutes
Measures Galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate (HR), electromyography (EMG), sympathetic reactivity (QTc/QS2 ratio), cortisol, acute psychologic stress scores, Wechsler memory scale, visual-choice reaction time (VCRT)
Topics Meditation
Key findings Meditation before a stressful event reduced physiological and psychological stress responses, while memory quotient increased and cortisol decreased after both stress and meditation; visual-choice reaction time showed no significant change.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to study the effects of meditation on stress-induced changes in cognitive functions. The study was conducted on 32 healthy adult male student volunteers who had never practiced meditation before the study. The study consisted of practicing 20 minutes of guided meditation and administration of psychologic stress to the subjects. The psychologic stress was administered to the subjects by asking them to play a (preselected) stressful computer game. The subjects were asked to meditate either before or after the administration of psychologic stress. For the control group measurements, the subjects were asked to wait quietly for an equivalent period of meditation time. The outcome measures were galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate (HR), electromyography (EMG), sympathetic reactivity (QTc/QS2 ratio), cortisol, and acute psychologic stress scores. The central nervous system functions were assessed using Wechsler memory scale and visual-choice reaction time (VCRT). These parameters were measured both at the beginning and at the end of the intervention, using a pre-post experimental test design. Computer game stress was associated with a significant increase in physiologic (GSR, EMG, HR, QTc/QS2) and psychologic (acute stress questionnaire scores) markers of stress. Meditation was associated with relaxation (significant decrease in GSR, EMG, QTc/QS2, and acute stress questionnaire scores). Meditation, if practiced before the stressful event, reduced the adverse effects of stress. Memory quotient significantly increased, whereas cortisol level decreased after both stress and meditation. VCRT showed no significant change. Practice of meditation produced a relaxation response even in the young adult subjects who had never practiced meditation before. The practice of meditation reduced the physiologic stress responses without taking away the beneficial effect of stress, namely, improved memory scores.

Comparable studies

Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients 2003 Pre-post intervention study n = 59
Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample 2010 Pre-post intervention study
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students 2003 Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study n = 302
Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls 2011 Controlled trial with wait-list control group n = 60
The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents 2011 Within-group waitlist controlled trial n = 22

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