The role that meditation plays in brain development has been the subject of several theories and a number of studies. One of them, conducted at the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that long-term meditators like Ms. Splain had greater gyrification — a term that describes the folding of the cerebral cortex, the outermost part of the brain.
Published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal in February, the study is the latest effort from the U.C.L.A. lab to determine the extent to which meditation may affect neuroplasticity — the ability of the brain to make physiological changes. Previous studies found that the brains of long-term meditators had increased amounts of so-called gray and white matter (the former is believed to be involved in processing information; the latter is thought of as the “wiring” of the brain’s communication system.)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Role of Meditation in Brain Development Gains Scientific Support - NYTimes.com
Role of Meditation in Brain Development Gains Scientific Support - NYTimes.com:
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Sure, but unless these studies were longitudinal, beginning before subjects began practicing meditating (as I understand them, they weren't), we find mere correlation. It could be that people with greater gyration tend to be the long-term meditator type...perhaps they enjoy things like meditation more than others with less gyrations and therefore meditation is not a contributing factor to their comparatively greater gyration. If so, that says something interesting about our brains more than it does about meditating.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point, Nick. The NYT article isn't super clear on whether the data shows (1) that meditators have more gyration than non meditators or (2), there's a systematic correlation between degree of gyration and years meditating. If it's (2), then that would seem to fit better with a 'meditation causes gyration' hypothesis than a 'gyration causes meditation' hypothesis, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes. Still, I think the best study would be a longitudinal study that begins with a group of non-meditators. After awhile, some people could begin meditating and others should continue not meditating. After a decade or so, if something like your (2) is found, then we would have serious and non-negligible support for meditating. Until this type of study is conducted, studies are only scratching the surface about what meditation can do for one's neurophysiology.
ReplyDeleteSure. Agreed.
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