Cerebral blood flow differences between long-term meditators and non-meditators.

We have studied a number of long-term meditators in previous studies. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are differences in baseline brain function of experienced meditators compared to non-meditators. All subjects were recruited as part of an ongoing study of different meditation practices. We evaluated 12 advanced meditators and 14 non-meditators with cerebral blood flow (CBF) SPECT imaging at rest. Images were analyzed with both region of interest and statistical parametric mapping. The CBF of long-term meditators was significantly higher (p<.05) compared to non-meditators in the prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, thalamus, putamen, caudate, and midbrain. There was also a significant difference in the thalamic laterality with long-term meditators having greater asymmetry. The observed changes associated with long-term meditation appear in structures that underlie the attention network and also those that relate to emotion and autonomic function.

Newberg AB, Wintering N, Waldman MR, Amen D, Khalsa DS, Alavi A. Conscious Cogn. 2010 Jun 4. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, United States; Center for Spirituality and the Mind, University of Pennsylvania, United States.