Science about the benefits of meditation and compassion

A new study has shown that participation in an 8-week training program of meditation can have a notable impact on brain function, then even if someone does not practice meditation actively. In its report, the researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston University (BU), and several other research centers found differences in those effects that produce different types of meditation: “two different types of meditation training our study participants gave some variation in the response of the right amygdala – part of brain responsible for emotional responses to images,” says Gaëlle Desbordes, author of the report, doctor of philosophy, researcher at the Athinoula A. Martinos center for biomedical imaging at MGH and the Center for computational neuroscience and neural technology at BU.





“This is the first case when the meditation training showed an impact on emotional processing in the brain outside of a meditative state”. Some previous studies have confirmed the hypothesis that meditation improves the ability of practitioners to regulate their emotional state. At the same time, brain imaging has shown that meditation helped to reduce activation of the amygdala structure of the brain, which plays an important role in processing memory and emotion – those changes were observed only at the time when the study participants were meditating.

The study confirmed that the training and practice of meditation can give a General reduction reaction of the amygdala to emotional stimuli, measurable functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Participants studied and practiced two types of meditation, 8-week course at Emory University in Atlanta. Healthy adults with no experience meditating participated in two different 8-week courses meditations: one for the development of attention and awareness of breathing, thoughts and emotions – and second – compassion meditation, a less studied form that includes methods for developing loving kindness and compassion for yourself and for others. The control group participated in an 8-week course in health education. Three weeks before and three weeks after the completion of the training, 12 participants from each group traveled to Boston for the visualization of brain fMRI. Brain scans performed as the volunteers viewed a series of 216 different images – 108 per session – of people in situations with positive, negative or neutral emotional content. Meditation was conducted before and during viewing. In addition, participants were tested for symptoms of depression and anxiety before and after a training program.
In the first group who practiced meditation for the development of attention, brain scans showed decreased activation in the right amygdala in response to all images. This supports the hypothesis that meditation can improve emotional stability and response to stress. A group meditation on compassion, the activity of the right amygdala also decreased in response to positive or neutral images. But among those who practiced compassion meditation most often outside of the training sessions, the activity of the right amygdala was more in response to negative images which were depicted some form of human suffering.

No significant changes were observed in the control group or in the left amygdala of any of the participants in the study. "We believe these two forms of meditation cultivate different aspects of mind," Desbordes explains. ” Increased activation of the amygdala was also associated with a reduction in depression in the group compassion meditation, which means to have more compassion towards others may be useful. Overall, these results are consistent with the General hypothesis that meditation leads to balance and stability, positive changes in brain function, especially in the area of emotional processing.

According to the materials of Massachussets General Hospital

Source: www.quantumcristal.com/