The underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation: Larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of gray matter

By Eileen Luders, Arthur W. Toga, Natasha Lepore, Christian Gaser. NeuroImage, 2009

465 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Although the systematic study of meditation is still in its infancy, research has provided evidence for meditation-induced improvements in psychological and physiological well-being. Moreover, meditation practice has been shown not only to benefit higher-order cognitive functions but also to alter brain activity. Nevertheless, little is known about possible links to brain structure. Using high-resolution MRI data of 44 subjects, we set out to examine the underlying anatomical correlates of long-term meditation with different regional specificity (i.e., global, regional, and local). For this purpose, we applied voxel-based morphometry in association with a recently validated automated parcellation approach. We detected significantly larger gray matter volumes in meditators in the right orbito-frontal cortex (as well as in the right thalamus and left inferior temporal gyrus when co-varying for age and/or lowering applied statistical thresholds). In addition, meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the right hippocampus. Both orbito-frontal and hippocampal regions have been implicated in emotional regulation and response control. Thus, larger volumes in these regions might account for meditators’ singular abilities and habits to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in mindful behavior. We further suggest that these regional alterations in brain structures constitute part of the underlying neurological correlate of long-term meditation independent of a specific style and practice. Future longitudinal analyses are necessary to establish the presence and direction of a causal link between meditation practice and brain anatomy.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/147879c8151a09e3d49505a1ca5d8389c990fb52

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Citations in the corpus

Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness (2012, methodology): “…increases in gray matter (GM) volume and concentration were found in areas related to EES, including the cerebellum, left SMA, thalamus, caudate, striatum, and parasympathetic control centers of the medulla (Pagnoni and Cekic, 2007; Luders et al., 2009; Vestergaard-Poulsen et al., 2009).”
Aging, training, and the brain: A review and future directions (2009, unknown): “Furthermore, although several studies have found increases in gray matter volume associated with meditation, the regions affected vary considerably across studies, raising concerns about the reliability of these effects (see Luders et al. 2009 for a brief discussion).”
Integrating Mindfulness Training into K-12 Education: Fostering the Resilience of Teachers and Students (2012, background): “…correlations between mindfulness training and increased thickness of cortical structures (i.e., grey matter) associated with attention, working memory, processing sensory input, EF, self-reflection, empathy, and affective regulation (Hölzel et al. 2008; Lazar et al. 2005; Luders et al. 2009).”
Mindfulness training and the cultivation of secure, satisfying couple relationships. (2013, unknown): “Both of these brain areas have shown structural changes (increased gray matter) after mindfulness meditation training (Hölzel et al., 2008, 2011a; Luders et al., 2009).”
Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density (2010, background): “…the benefits of meditation, due to its involvement in the modulation of cortical arousal and responsiveness (Newberg and Iversen, 2003), and morphological differences between meditators and non-meditators in the hippocampus have previously been reported (Hölzel et al., 2008; Luders et al., 2009).”
Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity (2011, background): “found increased gray-matter concentration in the inferior temporal gyrus in experienced meditators (45).”
Contemplative Education: A Systematic, Evidence-Based Review of the effect of Meditation Interventions in Schools (2015, background): “In another study linking meditation to structural changes in the hippocampus, Luders et al. (2009) observed significantly larger right hippocampal volume in 22 long-term meditators (minimum 5 years practice across a range of meditation styles) compared to 22 controls through the analysis of…”