Scientific Study Shows How Meditation
Helps Rebuild the Brain
n eight-week study conducted by Harvard
researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital
(MGH) provided scientific evidence that
meditation can help rebuild the brain’s grey
matter in eight weeks. This Harvard study is the very first to
document how meditation produces changes over time in the
brain’s grey matter.
To help capture key data, magnetic resonance images (MRI)
of the brains of study participants were taken two weeks prior
to participating in the study. The participants then engaged in
a 30-minute meditation practice daily, which included focusing
on audio recordings for guided meditation.
The study reported that “the analysis of MRI images, which
focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were
A
seen in earlier studies, found increased grey-matter density in
the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and
memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness,
compassion and introspection.”
“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by
practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing
the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of
life. Other studies in different patient populations have shown
that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety
of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying
mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change,” says Britta
Holzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH
and Giessen University in Germany. n
December 2016
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