Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Apr 15;45(3):672-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.12.061.

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

Affiliations

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

Eileen Luders et al. Neuroimage. .

Abstract

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Larger GM volumes in meditators
Views of the right orbito-frontal cortex (left panel; p<0.04FEW-corr), right thalamus (middle panel; p<0.0005uncorr), and left inferior temporal gyrus (right panel; p<0.0005uncorr), where GM is larger in meditators compared to controls. The color intensity represents T-statistic values at the voxel level. The results are visualized on the mean image derived from the 44 T1-weighted scans of the subjects analyzed, and presented in neurological convention (right is right).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Larger GM volumes in meditators (co-varied for age)
Views of the right orbito-frontal cortex (left panel; p<0.0001uncorr), right thalamus (middle panel; p<0.0003uncorr), and left inferior temporal gyrus (right panel; p<0.0003uncorr), where GM is larger in meditators compared to controls. The color intensity represents T-statistic values at the voxel level. The results are visualized on the mean image derived from the 44 T1-weighted scans of the subjects analyzed, and presented in neurological convention (right is right).

References

    1. Ashburner J, Friston KJ. Voxel-based morphometry - The methods. Neuroimage. 2000;11:805–821. - PubMed
    1. Ashburner J, Friston KJ. Unified segmentation. Neuroimage. 2005;26:839–851. - PubMed
    1. Baer RA. Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical Review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 2003;10:125–143.
    1. Boyke J, Driemeyer J, Gaser C, Buchel C, May A. Training-induced brain structure changes in the elderly. J Neurosci. 2008;28:7031–7035. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brown KW, Ryan RM. The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers.Soc.Psychol. 2003;84:822–848. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources