Brains of Longtime Meditators Are Less Affected

by the Aging Process

According to a new study from the UCLA Brain Mapping Center, meditation may also
protect the aging brain. Researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles
and Australian National University found that the brains of longtime meditators were
less affected by aging than the brains of those who don’t meditate.
The brain begins to decline in the 20s, and continues to decrease in volume and
weight through old age. Meditation, in addition to boosting emotional and physical
well-being at any time in life, may be an effective way to prevent neurodegenerative
diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as help stave off some of
the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging. The strategy is free, and it comes
with no side effects.
The new study builds on 2011 research from the same team, which showed that people
who meditate exhibit less age-related atrophy in the brain’s white matter, material
that makes up nearly half of the brain and is composed of nerve fibers that the brain
uses to communicate.
In this study, researchers looked at the link between meditation and the preservation
of gray matter, the tissue where cognition occurs and memories are stored. They
examined the brains of 100 participants, 50 people who had been meditating for an
average of 20 years and 50 non-meditators. Both groups were made up of 28 men and
22 women between the ages of 24 and 77.
The participants’ brains were scanned using fMRI technology. While both groups
showed a decline in gray matter with older age, longtime meditators experienced
smaller reductions in gray matter volume than those who did not meditate. It seemed
that gray matter, in those who meditated, was better preserved.
While the findings don’t prove causality — personalities, lifestyle factors and genetic
brain differences may also play a role — they are certainly promising. The next step
for this research would be a longitudinal study tracking the brains of a group of
meditators and non-meditators over many years to examine changes that occurred as
a direct result of years of meditation, Kuth said.
And at a time when Americans are living longer than ever before but experiencing
higher rates of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders, the research is an
important reminder that mindfulness can exert a long-lasting influence on brain
health.
The findings were published online in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
Source: The Huffington Post