Modification of the paired H reflex through the transcendental meditation and TM-Sidhi program.
R K Wallace, Paul J Mills, David W. Orme-Johnson, M C Dillbeck, E Jacobe
Experimental Neurology January 1983 DOI: 10.1016/0014-4886(83)90379-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 22 |
| Population | 14 subjects with no mental or motor disorders in the experimental group and 8 controls |
| Intervention | TM-Sidhi program |
| Measures | paired H reflex |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Paired H reflex amplitude was significantly facilitated in experimental male subjects at intervals of 100 through 250 ms, while experimental female subjects and controls showed no significant change. The authors state this extends evidence of physiologic differences between TM-Sidhi and TM practitioners and indicates the H reflex can be modified in normal subjects. |
Abstract
The paired H reflex, considered to be the electrically evoked counterpart of the monosynaptic stretch reflex, provides a measure of motoneuron excitability under a variety of experimental and clinical conditions. This study investigated the longitudinal effects of an advanced meditation program (the TM-Sidhi program) on the paired H reflex at nine delay intervals (50, 70, 100, 150, 200, 250, 333, 500, and 1000 ms). An experimental group of 14 subjects with no mental or motor disorders was instructed in an advanced TM program known as the TM-Sidhi program and the control group (N = 8) practiced the TM technique only. The amplitude of the paired H reflex was significantly facilitated in the experimental male subjects at intervals 100 through 250 ms, whereas the experimental female subjects and controls showed no significant change. These results extend previous studies showing distinct physiologic differences between subjects practicing these two programs and are of additional interest because they show that the H reflex can be modified in normal subjects.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF EFFECTS OF TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION PRACTICE ON INTERHEMISPHERIC FRONTAL ASYMMETRY AND FRONTAL COHERENCE International Journal of Neuroscience 2006
- International Peace Project in the Middle East Journal of Conflict Resolution December 1, 1988
- Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation Program in Preventing and Treating Substance Misuse: A Review International Journal of the Addictions 1991
- Nootropic efficacy of Satvavajaya Chikitsa and Ayurvedic drug therapy: A comparative clinical exposition. International Journal of Yoga 2015
- Evidence that the Transcendental Meditation program prevents or decreases diseases of the nervous system and is specifically beneficial for epilepsy. Medical Hypotheses 2006
and 5 more in the library