On the road to resilience: Epigenetic effects of meditation.

Loredana Verdone; Micaela Caserta; Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan; Sabrina Venditti

doi:10.1016/bs.vh.2022.12.009

On the road to resilience: Epigenetic effects of meditation.

Loredana Verdone, Micaela Caserta, Tal Dotan Ben-Soussan, Sabrina Venditti

Vitamins and hormones 2023 DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2022.12.009 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Review Peer reviewed
Intervention	Meditation
Topics	Meditation
Keywords	Dna methylation Epigenetic clock Epigenetics Resilience Stress Well-being
Key findings	The authors argue that epigenetic mechanisms mediate the effects of both stress and meditation on gene expression and physiology, and that the reviewed studies indicate mindful practices reshape the epigenetic landscape and increase resilience, supporting meditation as a complementary tool alongside pharmacological treatment for stress-related pathologies.

Abstract

Many environmental and lifestyle related factors may influence the physiology of the brain and body by acting on fundamental molecular pathways, such as the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and the immune system. For example, stressful conditions created by adverse early-life events, unhealthy habits and low socio-economic status may favor the onset of diseases linked to neuroendocrine dysregulation, inflammation and neuroinflammation. Beside pharmacological treatments used in clinical settings, much attention has been given to complementary treatments such as mind-body techniques involving meditation that rely on the activation of inner resources to regain health. At the molecular level, the effects of both stress and meditation are elicited epigenetically through a set of mechanisms that regulate gene expression as well as the circulating neuroendocrine and immune effectors. Epigenetic mechanisms constantly reshape genome activities in response to external stimuli, representing a molecular interface between organism and environment. In the present work, we aimed to review the current knowledge on the correlation between epigenetics, gene expression, stress and its possible antidote, meditation. After introducing the relationship between brain, physiology, and epigenetics, we will proceed to describe three basic epigenetic mechanisms: chromatin covalent modifications, DNA methylation and non-coding RNAs. Subsequently, we will give an overview of the physiological and molecular aspects related to stress. Finally, we will address the epigenetic effects of meditation on gene expression. The results of the studies reported in this review demonstrate that mindful practices modulate the epigenetic landscape, leading to increased resilience. Therefore, these practices can be considered valuable tools that complement pharmacological treatments when coping with pathologies related to stress.

Comparable studies

Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design
Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations	2003	Review
Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects	2007	Review
Mindfulness Interventions	2016	Review
Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation	2017	Review
Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition	2005	Review

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