Meditation May Increase Gray Matter

[ButterflyWoman]

Excerpt:

In a study published in the journal NeuroImage and currently available online (by subscription), the researchers report that certain regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger than in a similar control group.

Specifically, meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the hippocampus and areas within the orbito-frontal cortex, the thalamus and the inferior temporal gyrus — all regions known for regulating emotions.

"We know that people who consistently meditate have a singular ability to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability and engage in mindful behavior," said Eileen Luders, lead author and a postdoctoral research fellow at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging. "The observed differences in brain anatomy might give us a clue why meditators have these exceptional abilities."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 134655.htm

I've been saying for years that meditation is the best tool for getting control of panic/anxiety or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was the thing that really helped me get on top of that. Now I know why!

[darron]

i figured this out alooooooooooooong time ago, meditation is such an awsome thing and the route to unlocking many things of youre inner self

EDIT: lol when i posted this i had found that out maybe like a month ago.

[boris]

word up

[Blaze]

Because this was not a longitudinal study — which would have tracked meditators from the time they began meditating onward — it's possible that the meditators already had more regional gray matter and volume in specific areas; that may have attracted them to meditation in the first place, Luders said.

That was my main concern with the results, and I'm glad it was mentioned in the article.