These articles have taken steps to identify and understand physiological differences in well-focused minds compared to lay people, it is analogous to a study showing that professional athletes have more muscle mass, in a manner communicating to those of us who seek to perform better at either a physical sport or become better problem solvers, that the mind, like the body must be trained and shaped to overcome difficult challenges. The papers in these two posts converge in that both studies show meditation increases activity and over long-term practice, cause structural changes in regions associated with focus and concentration.
Fig 1 Larger GM volumes in meditators (co-varied for age). Views of the right orbito-frontal cortex, right thalamus, and left inferior temporal gyrus, where GM is larger in meditators compared to controls. The color intensity represents T-statistic values at the voxel level.
Where the last post attempts to capture a snapshot of the mind during a meditative act the paper in the following post attempts to show structural changes caused by long-term, regular meditation. The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation-Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter, by Luders, et al., asked a simple question: does regular meditation over many years cause any neuroanatomical changes in the meditator.
Image from National Geographic magazine
To find the answer the authors took 22 meditators with mean meditation experience of 24.18 years and acquired images of their brains using MRI. The images were then passed through Voxel-based GM volume analysis, at a local and global level. Next the images passed through Parcellated volume analysis software, combined the various software analysis would help to distinguish grey matter volume differences between the 22 long-term meditators and 22 control subjects with no meditation experience. As a result, this would to some degree, help the authors identify regions with grey matter (GM) differences, however it is not so clear how those changes can be specifically attributed to meditation alone. The data in figure 1 reveals increased GM differences in areas shown as activated by meditation in previous studies. The authors believe the results of this study provides enough positive data to continue to examine the relationship between meditation and GM volume, they nevertheless do acknowledge that on a global level there was no GM difference, only on a local level.
The future for neurophysiological research of focus and the clarity of thought relies significantly on better imaging technology; we must be able to see what pathways are becoming activated, when and during which thoughts. With increased complexity in our everyday lives, less time and more tasks to complete, being able to focus on the everyday problems and the overarching issues that are inherent with existence will become more relevant, research such as this may help to aid individuals and societies alike.
Citations:
Luders E, Toga AW, Lepore N, & Gaser C (2009). The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter. NeuroImage, 45 (3), 672-8 PMID: 19280691
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