Meditation is known to alter resting brain patterns,suggesting long lasting brain changes.But a new study shows meditation also is associated with increased cortical thickness.The structural changes were found in the areas of the brain that are important for sensory,cognitive and emotional processing.
Magnetic resonance imaging showed that regular practice of meditation is associated with increased thickness in a subset of cortical regiongs related to sensory,auditory,visual and internal perception,such as heart rate and breathing.The researchers also found that regular meditation practice may also slow age-related thining of the frontal cortex.Most of the regions identified in this study were found in the right hemisphere.The right hemisphere is imperative for sustaining attention,which is a central practice of Insight meditation.The other forms of yoga and meditation likely have a similar impact on cortial structure,although each tradition would be expected to have a slightly different pattern of cortical thickening based on the specific mental exercises involved.