Meditation and the brain

A number of people have sent me links to articles about the latest research on meditation and the brain. I'll share one with you called, "Meditate on This: Buddhist Tradition Thickens Parts of the Brain". Here is an excerpt:

Meditation alters brain patterns in ways that are likely permanent, scientists have known. But a new study shows key parts of the brain actually get thicker through the practice.

Brain imaging of regular working folks who meditate regularly revealed increased thickness in cortical regions related to sensory, auditory and visual perception, as well as internal perception -- the automatic monitoring of heart rate or breathing, for example.

The study also indicates that regular meditation may slow age-related thinning of the frontal cortex.

"What is most fascinating to me is the suggestion that meditation practice can change anyone's gray matter," said study team member Jeremy Gray, an assistant professor of psychology at Yale. "The study participants were people with jobs and families. They just meditated on average 40 minutes each day, you don't have to be a monk."
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Most of the brain regions identified to be changed through meditation were found in the right hemisphere, which is essential for sustaining attention. And attention is the focus of the meditation.

It's interesting that last night and this morning in ongoing class we examined the principle of attention as part of our discussion on the topic of "right concentration".

So here's another motivation for sticking with your meditation and for coming to class. It really does improve your brain.