Brief communicationAge effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation
Introduction
Buddhist meditative practices have received considerable attention recently (Barinaga, 2003, Knight, 2004), for their potential phenomenological and epistemological contributions to cognitive science (Varela et al., 1991) and as a context in which to investigate neural plasticity related to mental practice (Lutz et al., 2004). The latter point is particularly relevant here: not unlike learning a second language or a musical instrument, meditation traditionally requires a long-term commitment to daily practice and therefore has the potential to induce changes in neural function and structure. While meditative practices can vary greatly, even within the Buddhist tradition itself, a core characteristic is the importance assigned to attentional and postural self-regulation, indicating the engagement of voluntary selection and inhibition processes common to many training situations. Zen meditation, in particular, is performed by sitting cross-legged (in the “lotus” or “half-lotus” position) and trying to maintain throughout the session a straight posture, a normal breathing pattern, and a mental attitude of openness to one's own mental processes while recognizing the occurrences of episodes of mind-wandering and distraction.
The recent development of imaging techniques has allowed researchers to observe learning-related morphological brain changes in domains as diverse as spatial navigation (Maguire et al., 2000), music (Gaser and Schlaug, 2003), language (Mechelli et al., 2004), and juggling (Draganski et al., 2004). While structural effects of training, typically observed as regional increases in gray matter volume or thickness of the cortical sheet, represent one facet of normal brain plasticity, an equally important and counteracting factor is age. Gray matter volume and cortical thickness have been shown to decrease starting at or immediately after adolescence (Good et al., 2001, Sowell et al., 2003), a loss that is partially echoed by some aspects of cognitive function, particularly in the attentional and executive domains (Chao and Knight, 1997). In the present study, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) (Ashburner and Friston, 2000) and a computerized neuropsychological test to examine the putative effect of regular meditative practice on the age-related decline in gray matter volume and attentional performance observed in healthy subjects. Given the cross-sectional design of the study, the use of terms such as “decline” or “rate of change” should be generally interpreted here as between-subjects inferences rather than directly observed longitudinal effects.
Section snippets
Methods
Thirteen Zen meditators (MEDT) with more than 3 years of daily practice were recruited from the local community and meditation centers, along with 13 control subjects (CTRL) who never practiced meditation. The groups were matched by sex (CTRL = 10 M; MEDT = 10 M), age (mean ± S.D.: MEDT, 37.2 ± 6.9 years; CTRL, 35.5 ± 5.7 years; two-tailed two-sample t-test: p = 0.50), and education level (mean ± S.D.: MEDT, 17.8 ± 2.4 years; CTRL, 17.8 ± 1.7 years; p = 0.93). All participants were native speakers of English (one
Results
The adjusted total gray matter volume showed a marginally significant negative correlation with age in the control group (Pearson's r = −0.54, p = 0.056) that was not apparent in the meditators group (r = 0.006, p = 0.83) (Fig. 1, top-left). The ANCOVA revealed an Age × Group interaction for total gray matter volume at a trend significance level (t(19) = 1.82, p = 0.08), with an estimated rate of change of −4.7 ml/year for the control group versus +1.8 ml/year for the meditators group. Notably, the capacity
Discussion
We observed a difference in the age-related decline rate of cerebral gray matter volume in the putamen between regular Zen meditators and control subjects, with total cerebral gray matter volume displaying a trend of significance for the same effect. These findings were complemented by a similar pattern in the capacity for sustained attention, a cognitive process that occupies a central position in the meditative exercise. While an observed difference in anatomical structure correlating with an
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise, related to the present work.
Acknowledgments
The study was supported by the Emory Center for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Neurodegenerative Diseases (National Institute of Health Grant P30-AT00609).
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