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Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality pp 119–128Cite as

Brain Structure and Meditation: How Spiritual Practice Shapes the Brain

Part of the Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality book series (SNCS,volume 1)

Abstract

Meditation practices can be conceived as specific types of mental training with measureable effects on the function and structure of the human brain. This contribution narratively reviews recent morphometric studies that compared experienced meditators with matched controls. While meditation types and measures differed between studies, results were remarkably consistent. Differences in gray matter (GM) volume and density were found in circumscribed brain regions which are involved in interoception and in the regulation of arousal and emotions, namely insula, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and brainstem. The normal age-related decline in GM volume and in attentional performance was present in controls but not in meditators. These findings need to be replicated in longitudinal studies in order to confirm the causal role of meditation training. Future research has to elucidate effects of these structural changes on neural activity and mental functioning during behavioral tasks.

Keywords

  • Cortical Thickness
  • Gray Matter Volume
  • Anterior Insula
  • Meditation Practice
  • Interoceptive Awareness

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Ulrich Ott, Britta K. Hölzel & Dieter Vaitl

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Britta K. Hölzel

Authors
  1. Ulrich Ott
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  2. Britta K. Hölzel
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  3. Dieter Vaitl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ulrich Ott .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Institute for Transcultural Health Scien, European Universtiy Viadrina, Frankfurt, Grosse Scharrnstr. 59, Frankfurt, 15230, Germany

    Harald Walach

  2. , Dept. of Environmental Health Sciences, University Medical Center Freiburg, Breisacherstr. 115b, Freiburg, 79106, Germany

    Stefan Schmidt

  3. Samueli Institute, King Street 1737, Alexandria, 22314, Virginia, USA

    Wayne B. Jonas

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Ott, U., Hölzel, B.K., Vaitl, D. (2011). Brain Structure and Meditation: How Spiritual Practice Shapes the Brain. In: Walach, H., Schmidt, S., Jonas, W. (eds) Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality. Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2079-4_9

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