Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
We are sorry, but NCBI web applications do not support your browser and may not function properly. More information
    Neuroreport. 2005 Nov 28;16(17):1893-7.

    Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness.

    Source

    Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. lazar@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu

    Abstract

    Previous research indicates that long-term meditation practice is associated with altered resting electroencephalogram patterns, suggestive of long lasting changes in brain activity. We hypothesized that meditation practice might also be associated with changes in the brain's physical structure. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess cortical thickness in 20 participants with extensive Insight meditation experience, which involves focused attention to internal experiences. Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in meditation participants than matched controls, including the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Between-group differences in prefrontal cortical thickness were most pronounced in older participants, suggesting that meditation might offset age-related cortical thinning. Finally, the thickness of two regions correlated with meditation experience. These data provide the first structural evidence for experience-dependent cortical plasticity associated with meditation practice.

    PMID:
    16272874
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    PMCID:
    PMC1361002
    Free PMC Article

    Images from this publication.See all images (2)Free text

    Fig. 2
    Fig. 1

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Icon for PubMed Central

      Save items

      Search details

      See more...

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk