Estimating brain age using high-resolution pattern recognition: Younger brains in long-term meditation practitioners.
Eileen Luders, Nicolas Cherbuin, Christian Gaser
Neuroimage July 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 100 |
| Population | 50 long-term meditators and 50 control subjects, with focus on age fifty and beyond |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Measures | BrainAGE index |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Aging Brain Gray matter MRI |
| Key findings | At age fifty, meditators' brains were estimated to be 7.5 years younger than controls', and for every additional year over fifty meditators' brains were estimated to be an additional 1 month and 22 days younger than their chronological age, while control estimates varied little. The authors suggest meditation may protect against age-related brain atrophy, though the design cannot establish causation. |
Abstract
Normal aging is known to be accompanied by loss of brain substance. The present study was designed to examine whether the practice of meditation is associated with a reduced brain age. Specific focus was directed at age fifty and beyond, as mid-life is a time when aging processes are known to become more prominent. We applied a recently developed machine learning algorithm trained to identify anatomical correlates of age in the brain translating those into one single score: the BrainAGE index (in years). Using this validated approach based on high-dimensional pattern recognition, we re-analyzed a large sample of 50 long-term meditators and 50 control subjects estimating and comparing their brain ages. We observed that, at age fifty, brains of meditators were estimated to be 7.5years younger than those of controls. In addition, we examined if the brain age estimates change with increasing age. While brain age estimates varied only little in controls, significant changes were detected in meditators: for every additional year over fifty, meditators' brains were estimated to be an additional 1month and 22days younger than their chronological age. Altogether, these findings seem to suggest that meditation is beneficial for brain preservation, effectively protecting against age-related atrophy with a consistently slower rate of brain aging throughout life.
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 25
- Mindfulness meditation increases default mode, salience, and central executive network connectivity Scientific Reports August 2, 2022
- Long-Term and Meditation-Specific Modulations of Brain Connectivity Revealed Through Multivariate Pattern Analysis Brain Topography March 28, 2023
- Neuroplasticity within and between Functional Brain Networks in Mental Training Based on Long-Term Meditation. Brain Sciences August 18, 2021
- Prefrontal cortical hemodynamics and functional network organization during Tai Chi standing meditation: an fNIRS study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience October 25, 2023
- Reduced Age-Related Gray Matter Loss in the Orbitofrontal Cortex in Long-Term Meditators Brain Sciences December 6, 2023
and 20 more in the library
Cites 13
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Meditation effects within the hippocampal complex revealed by voxel-based morphometry and cytoarchitectonic probabilistic mapping Frontiers in Psychology 2013
- Reduced age-related degeneration of the hippocampal subiculum in long-term meditators. Psychiatry Research June 30, 2015
- Larger hippocampal dimensions in meditation practitioners: differential effects in women and men. Frontiers in Psychology 2015
- Shifting brain asymmetry: the link between meditation and structural lateralization. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 2015
and 8 more in the library