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Meditation preserves gray matter in long-term meditators

Long-term meditation may protect the brain by reducing age-related brain tissue degeneration, according to a recently published study in Frontiers of Psychology.

“Over time, activity-induced gray matter gain may “mask” the gray matter loss that is normally observed in aging. In other words, the potential meditation-induced tissue might counteract the normal age-related decrease,” Eileen Luders, PhD, from the department of neurology at UCLA School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote.

To assess the link between mediation and age-specific cerebral gray matter decline, researchers examined both the local and global grey matter of 100 participants between the ages of 24 and 77 years. Participants (28 men, 22 women) had between 4 and 46 years of meditation experience, (mean 19.8 years). Researchers closely matched meditators (n = 50) and controls (n = 50) by age.

Researchers found a negative correlation between global gray matter and age in both groups (P < .001), though the slopes of regression lines were substantially higher in the non-meditators. Group-specific coefficient correlations were shown to be higher in controls (r = 77) than meditators (r = – 5.8). The group-by-age interaction were highly significant (P = .003) and data showed less age-related degeneration in gray matter among meditators.

The researchers found significant local gray matter decline in both groups (P < .05), although it was less noticeable in mediators.

Factors that accompany meditation may also help conserve gray matter such as reduction of stress levels, mediation of harmful immune response gene expression, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity, downregulation of neurogenesis, activation of pro-inflammatory processes and production of reactive oxygen species, according to researchers.

“Future studies may want to consider exploring possible differential side effects of various meditation styles in the framework of brain aging,” they wrote. – by Casey Hower

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.