Just
11 hours of learning a meditation technique induces positive structural
changes in brain connectivity by boosting efficiency in a part of the
brain that helps a person regulate behavior in accordance with their
goals, researchers report.
The
technique -- integrative body-mind training (IBMT) -- has been the
focus of intense scrutiny by a team of Chinese researchers led by
Yi-Yuan Tang of Dalian University of Technology in collaboration with
University of Oregon psychologist Michael I. Posner.
IBMT
was adapted from traditional Chinese medicine in the 1990s in China,
where it is practiced by thousands of people. It is now being taught to
undergraduates involved in research on the method at the University of
Oregon.
The
new research -- published online the week of Aug. 16-21 ahead of
regular publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences -- involved 45 UO students (28 males and 17 females); 22
subjects received IBMT while 23 participants were in a control group
that received the same amount of relaxation training. The experiments
involved the use of brain-imaging equipment in the UO's Robert and
Beverly Lewis Center for Neuroimaging.
A
type of magnetic resonance called diffusion tensor imaging allowed
researchers to examine fibers connecting brain regions before and after
training. The changes were strongest in connections involving the
anterior cingulate, a brain area related to the ability to regulate
emotions and behavior. The changes were observed only in those who
practiced meditation and not in the control group. The changes in
connectivity began after six hours of training and became clear by 11
hours of practice. The researchers said it is possible the changes
resulted from a reorganization of white-matter tracts or by an increase
of myelin that surrounds the connections.
"The
importance of our findings relates to the ability to make structural
changes in a brain network related to self regulation," said Posner, who
last fall received a National Medal of Science. "The pathway that has
the largest change due to IBMT is one that previously was shown to
relate to individual differences in the person's ability to regulate
conflict."
In
2007 in PNAS, Tang, a visiting scholar at the UO, and Posner documented
that doing IBMT for five days prior to a mental math test led to low
levels of the stress hormone cortisol among Chinese students. The
experimental group also showed lower levels of anxiety, depression,
anger and fatigue than students in a relaxation control group.
In
2009 in PNAS, Tang and Chinese colleagues, with assistance from Posner
and UO psychology professor Mary K. Rothbart, found that IBMT subjects
in China had increased blood flow in the right anterior cingulate cortex
after receiving training for 20 minutes a day over five days. Compared
with the relaxation group, IBMT subjects also had lower heart rates and
skin conductance responses, increased belly breathing amplitude and
decreased chest respiration rates.
The
latter findings suggested the possibility that additional training
might trigger structural changes in the brain, leading to the new
research, Tang and Posner said. The researchers currently are extending
their evaluation to determine if longer exposure to IBMT will produce
positive changes in the size of the anterior cingulate.
Deficits
in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex have been associated
with attention deficit disorder, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and
many other disorders. "We believe this new finding is of interest to
the fields of education, health and neuroscience, as well as for the
general public," Tang said.
In
their conclusion, the researchers wrote that the new findings suggest a
use of IBMT as a vehicle for understanding how training influences
brain plasticity.
IBMT
is not yet available in the United States beyond the research being
done at the UO. The practice avoids struggles to control thought,
relying instead on a state of restful alertness, allowing for a high
degree of body-mind awareness while receiving instructions from a coach,
who provides breath-adjustment guidance and mental imagery and other
techniques while soothing music plays in the background. Thought control
is achieved gradually through posture, relaxation, body-mind harmony
and balanced breathing. A good coach is critical, Tang said.
Co-authors
with Tang and Posner on the new PNAS paper were Qilin Lu of the Dalian
University of Technology and Xiujuan Geng, Elliot A. Stein and Yihong
Yang, all of the National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural Research
Program in Baltimore, Md.
The
James S. Bower Foundation based in Santa Barbara, Calif., John
Templeton Foundation in West Conshohocken, PA, National Natural Science
Foundation of China and U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural
Research Program supported the research.
Posner Web page:
http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/ionmain/htdocs/faculty/posner.htmlYi-Yuan Tang site on IBMT:
http://www.yi-yuan.net/english/tyy.aspDalian University of Technology (English version):
http://www.dlut.edu.cn/en/National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural Research Program:
http://irp.drugabuse.gov/James S. Bower Foundation:
http://www.jsbowerfoundation.org/John Templeton Foundation:
http://www.templeton.org/SOURCE:
University of Oregon
