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CNN Article on how mediatation may help your brain
personDon't believe everything you thinkThe liminal spaceVeteran
Another nice article on the benefits of meditation.
Though I have to poke at the end of it.
But the study does not address the issue of cause: Is meditation changing the brain, or do people who already have these brain patterns get interested in meditation?
"Emerging data from our group and others suggests that some things thought to be result of meditation might be cause of meditation," said Dr. Charles Raison, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
If some people are just better at keeping their minds from wandering, that would also be consistent with the Buddhist idea that your capabilities are the result of your Karmic path, so meditation may be better suited to some people than others, Raison said.
Someday, if brain scans become cheap enough, one day there might be a test to see who can benefit most from mindfulness training, Raison said.
In the meantime, scientists should explore these open questions by doing longitudinal studies, Raison said. That would involve assigning some people to meditate and some people to not meditate, and following the groups over time to see whether a change in brain activity patterns is visible.
Other studies have shown changes in brain patterns for novices doing as little as 30 minutes a day over 8 weeks. Is this doctor saying that experienced meditators (with over 10,000 hrs of meditation) brains where like that to begin with and they've just done meditation because they like it and haven't gotten any tangible benefit?
Yes some people may be better at meditating than others just as some are better at driving than others, but does that mean that only good drivers can get something out of driving.
A longterm study of the effects of meditation on the brain would be nice, but studies have already shown that meditation over time does effect brain activity patterns.
Comments
Though I have to poke at the end of it.
But the study does not address the issue of cause: Is meditation changing the brain, or do people who already have these brain patterns get interested in meditation?
"Emerging data from our group and others suggests that some things thought to be result of meditation might be cause of meditation," said Dr. Charles Raison, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
If some people are just better at keeping their minds from wandering, that would also be consistent with the Buddhist idea that your capabilities are the result of your Karmic path, so meditation may be better suited to some people than others, Raison said.
Someday, if brain scans become cheap enough, one day there might be a test to see who can benefit most from mindfulness training, Raison said.
In the meantime, scientists should explore these open questions by doing longitudinal studies, Raison said. That would involve assigning some people to meditate and some people to not meditate, and following the groups over time to see whether a change in brain activity patterns is visible.
Other studies have shown changes in brain patterns for novices doing as little as 30 minutes a day over 8 weeks. Is this doctor saying that experienced meditators (with over 10,000 hrs of meditation) brains where like that to begin with and they've just done meditation because they like it and haven't gotten any tangible benefit?
Yes some people may be better at meditating than others just as some are better at driving than others, but does that mean that only good drivers can get something out of driving.
A longterm study of the effects of meditation on the brain would be nice, but studies have already shown that meditation over time does effect brain activity patterns.