Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry
Britta K. Hölzel, Ulrich Ott, Tim Gard, Hannes Hempel, Martin Weygandt, Katrin Morgen, Dieter Vaitl
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience December 3, 2007 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsm038 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLong-term mindfulness meditators show greater gray matter concentration in brain regions linked to interoceptive awareness and meditation, including the right anterior insula, left inferior temporal gyrus, and right hippocampus. In a comparison of 20 Vipassana meditators (averaging 8.6 years of practice, 2 hours daily) with matched non-meditators, the amount of meditation training predicted gray matter concentration in the left inferior temporal gyrus, suggesting a causal impact of practice. The findings indicate that meditation practice is associated with structural brain differences in areas typically activated during meditation and relevant to the task.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Mindfulness (Vipassana) meditators and matched non-meditators |
| Dose | 2 h daily |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Voxel-based morphometry Insula Audiology |
| Citations | 544 |
| Key finding | Meditators had greater gray matter concentration in the right anterior insula, left inferior temporal gyrus, and right hippocampus compared to non-meditators. |
Abstract
Mindfulness meditators practice the non-judgmental observation of the ongoing stream of internal experiences as they arise. Using voxel-based morphometry, this study investigated MRI brain images of 20 mindfulness (Vipassana) meditators (mean practice 8.6 years; 2 h daily) and compared the regional gray matter concentration to that of non-meditators matched for sex, age, education and handedness. Meditators were predicted to show greater gray matter concentration in regions that are typically activated during meditation. Results confirmed greater gray matter concentration for meditators in the right anterior insula, which is involved in interoceptive awareness. This group difference presumably reflects the training of bodily awareness during mindfulness meditation. Furthermore, meditators had greater gray matter concentration in the left inferior temporal gyrus and right hippocampus. Both regions have previously been found to be involved in meditation. The mean value of gray matter concentration in the left inferior temporal gyrus was predictable by the amount of meditation training, corroborating the assumption of a causal impact of meditation training on gray matter concentration in this region. Results suggest that meditation practice is associated with structural differences in regions that are typically activated during meditation and in regions that are relevant for the task of meditation.