Preksha Dhyāna Meditation Effect on the DNA Methylation Signature in College Students.
Samani U Pragya, Samani C Pragya, Anthony J. Griswold, Esther Gu, Neelam D Mehta, Parvin Uddin, Pushya Veeramachaneni, Naina Mehta, Devendra Mehta, Bassam Abomoelak
Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine April 2023 DOI: 10.1089/jicm.2022.0713 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 34 |
| Population | Healthy novice college student meditators |
| Intervention | Preksha Dhyana meditation |
| Duration | 8 weeks |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cpg dna methylation Preksha dhyana Cellular pathways |
| Registration | NCT03779269 |
| Key findings | Preksha Dhyana meditation was associated with 470 nominally differentially methylated CpG sites (180 hypermethylated, 290 hypomethylated) in peripheral blood after 8 weeks. Genes linked to these sites were enriched in metabolic and brain-function signaling pathways, which the authors propose may underlie the meditation's cognitive and transcriptomic effects. |
Abstract
Introduction: The stress and psychological factors affect the human transcriptomic and epigenomic landscapes. Preksha Dhyana meditation (PM) was found to be effective, in novice healthy college student meditators, at the cognitive skills and transcriptomic levels. Recently published data showed that PM induced alterations at the transcriptome level in healthy and novice college students.
Methods: To decipher potential mechanisms underlying the PM effect at the cellular level, array-based methylation analyses in peripheral blood were performed at baseline and 8 weeks postintervention in 34 participants.
Results: Overall, 470 CpG sites were nominally differentially methylated (p ≤ 0.05 and change magnitude from ≥3% to ≤ -3%) between baseline and 8 weeks postintervention with 180 sites hypermethylated and 290 sites hypomethylated. Pathway analysis of the genes linked to the differentially methylated sites revealed the enrichment of several molecular and cellular signaling pathways, especially metabolic and brain function signaling pathways.
Conclusions: Besides its beneficial effects on cognitive skills and transcriptome alterations, the current data indicate that PM meditation also affects the DNA methylation profile of novice and healthy college students 8 weeks postintervention. Clinical
Trial Registration: NCT03779269.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Epigenetic Echoes: Bridging Nature, Nurture, and Healing Across Generations. International Journal of Molecular Sciences March 27, 2025
- Changes in DNA Methylation Associated With Psychobehavioral Interventions: A Scoping Literature Review. Biological Research for Nursing May 31, 2025
- Mapping the scientific landscape of preksha dhyana: a bibliometric analysis Advances in Traditional Medicine March 18, 2026
- Preksha Dhyana meditation modulates the serum metabolome in healthy and meditation-naïve participants. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences 2026
- Cognitive Skills and DNA Methylation Are Correlating in Healthy and Novice College Students Practicing Preksha Dhyāna Meditation. Brain Sciences August 17, 2023
Cites 13
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Meditation is associated with increased brain network integration. Neuroimage September 1, 2017
- Preksha Dhyāna meditation induces alterations at the transcriptome level in novice and healthy college students Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences December 3, 2021
- Mindfulness meditation for Chinese patients with psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Research September 9, 2021
and 8 more in the library