We just received some exciting news here at the Amen Clinics. A study we conducted on the effects of meditation on the brain will be appearing in an upcoming issue of the journal Nuclear Medicine Communications, one of the premiere journals in the field of nuclear medicine.
For years, I’ve been recommending meditation to my patients as a great way to relieve stress, increase focus, and improve relaxation. In our practice, we have seen patients with Alzheimer’s disease or who have had a stroke make great improvements thanks to meditation. With this study, we set out to examine what happens in the brain during meditation to bring about these positive benefits.
We performed the study in conjunction with Dharma Singh Kalsa at the Alzheimer’s Prevention Research Foundation in Arizona and Dr. Andrew Newberg at the University of Pennsylvania. Together, we examined changes in brain physiology during Kirtan Kriya meditation using SPECT imaging.
Here’s what we found. The left posterior parietal lobe, a region known to control spatial orientation, was deactivated during meditation. Consistent with this finding, the participants reported a sense of transcendence or detachment.
The subjects also reported an increased sense of focus and capacity for concentration, although we did not find increased activation in the attentional networks of the brain. This suggests that it is the willful act of focusing, not necessarily the mere act of meditating, that improves attention.
We also found heightened activity in the areas associated with working memory and language. Deactivation in a region called the subgenual cingulated gyrus might explain subjective reports of happiness and a sense of well-being while meditating.
Overall, the results offer evidence that this form of meditation changes brain function in a way that is consistent with the positive benefits we have observed in our patients.
Try meditation in your own life to enhance brain function and reduce stress. Just a few minutes a day may be all you need to see results.
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6 Comments
Spect imaging is every interesting to me, my son Daniel had Raccoon Roundworm Encephalitis, he cortically blind and has a rare type of Epilepsy called infantile spasms, related to mental retardation, its not fair he’s only 2, he was fine till 14months old. I wondering with his brain spect imaging would look like, I wondering if Dr. Amen worked with someone like my son.
I need to be personally evaluated by Dr. Amen
Can you make an appointment for me?
I live at 160 Eaton Ln, Sequim, WA 98382.
I like what I read.
Someone should be monitoring the comments on this forum. While I certainly support freedom of speech, the fundamentalist diatribe that preceeds as comment 2 appears to be condoned and supported by the Amen Clinics. As a scientist and practitioner of traditional Yoga and meditation, I find this ‘Christian’ perspective to be entirely in opposition with the basic, non-judgemental values of Yogic philosophy.
Hi Dr. Amen,
I have been an avid reader of your books since ‘Healing ADD’. I have also had a SPECT scan at your Washington, DC office 5 years ago, and been to a few Byron Katie Schools and seminars. At one of the Byron Katie schools, she told us she also had a SPECT scan by you. The question I have is about how the brain changes during “spontaneous awakenings” like with her and people like Eckhart Tolle. I would guess you do not have before and after SPECTs, but can you tell me what you theory is as far as brain changes with “spontaneous awankened” people.
Thanks for the impact you have had on my life.
I read Dr. Amen’s Change Your Brain, Change Your Life in 1998 when it was first published, and I knew he was on to something. Now I just read on twitter that scientists have discovered where fear is in the brain, the amygdala-Dr. Amen shared that 10 years ago!!
http://scinewsblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/neuroscientists-locate-where-it-is.html
I’m wondering if you have any DMT users in your database and if research has shown any damage from the so called “natural spiritual drugs”, when taken as recommended by mystics.