Meditation Correlated With Structural Changes In The Brain I wrote about the benefits of meditation and changes in the brain last year. Here's a short summary of some more evidence from neuroscience whereby real physiological changes in the brain are due to a sort of formally practiced introspection (as practiced in Buddhism). Now, I wonder what are the effects of practicing other forms of religious rituals (on brain structure and function)? If it's possible to promote well-being and peace, its certainly possible to promote fear and insecurity (decreased hippocampal volume, increased amygdala volume, strengthened synapses between amygdala and forebrain, etc....). Imagine what may be happening inside the brains of people who truly feel a God is watching them all day every day and that worry one day they ... might (if they're not too careful) roast in hell! HOW does praying multiple times a day to appease a God (well, a God of the mind) and altering diet, trying to temper or restrict ideas, etc... have on these structures of the brain? That last part is particularly interesting to me. Imaging a God "knows" what you are thinking and trying to stop sinful thoughts - wow, how could THAT screw up the brain when combined with an evil God who burns people in hell forever. I'm 99.9% positive we'll see a strong correlation between religion and brain function and the implication these have all the way up to he societal level. There's a reason why certain cultures are the way they are and I think this is the best way at getting at why.
This kind of research should be promoted to cement the gap between science and religion. The science and religion are not against each other.
Science isn't so much against "religion" per say, as it is against superstitious thinking. Science is, in a sense, a method of thinking about things. In this case, I'm sure that in the past some would have thought 'Zen' was due to a "spiritual connection" after 3 years of meditation. We now think an increase in hippocampal neurogenesis is more likely the case. Lets find out how.
Previous meditation studies have shown an increase in prefrontal myelination which results in a thickening of the cortex for regular practitioners. The famous 'nun study' in rural Wisconsin (I think their retreat was there) showed that the nuns adherence to a basic, regular, ordered lifestyle that emphasized serenity actually masked the symptoms of advanced Alzheimer's disease.
RE: Alzheimer's I read (somewhere) that Academics show a significantly lower incidence of Alzheimer symptoms. However, when an fMRI was run some of these Academics have neural degeneration that mirrors fMRI of people with full-blown dementia. Why were the academics asymptomatic? It was suggests that they may use the good areas of their brain more efficiently. Perhaps NOT a classic case of use it or lose it as the brain in both people are damaged. It's use it and use it more efficiently. Sit and watch TV / don't use it and then yes you lose its function. I'd like to see more of these studies. A friend of mine had an fMRI run in Germany- just for fun. The results showed various areas of neural damage (small areas). This really upset her and obviously she asked if it was normal. They told her yes it was normal for a woman her age (45). She asked what about them? They kind of laughed and said no way am I getting in there Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Apparently they were being honest - no one in that research lab ever had an fMRI because they don't want to know about their brains' small damage! I thought this was odd as I'd rather get an fMRI (regularly) if I could. Better to be informed than live uninformed. Last year I read a study about children who lived during wartime stress were found to have significant long-term depression which may be related to decreased hippocampal volume. This seems reasonable from observation. Emotional stress appears to have long-term effects on personality which are, more than likely, reflected in neural architecture. What I would like to know is if some people who are susceptible to stressful memes (like Hell, a God or Gods who can read your "sinful" thoughts, eternal punishment, etc....) reinforced daily from childhood, can't similarly end up having changes to their neural architecture (perhaps a reduction of cognitive function? strengthening the connections of the amygdala and forebrain, decreasing hippocampus volume as well as that of other limbic systems) that mirror wartime children. I wonder, if taken as a whole, wouldn't enough altered brains in society bring about detrimental social consequences? IMO this also seems reasonable. This may explain some observed reoccurring social phenomenon much better than "the CIA did it". Ultimately if we find certain memes do cause indeed long-term brain damage then an argument could be made that promoting certain memes is a form of child abuse. These memes should quietly be eliminated through proper eduction.
Attitude and emotional set have indeed been linked to mental health. I recently read an article (Sciam Mind) by a neuroscientist who had his brain mri'ed at age 45 and then compared that scan to an x-ray he had done when he was 30. He was appalled at how much brain volume he had lost and decided to explore if there was any way to address that loss. He found that something as simple as learning to play an instrument and sticking with that for 3 months showed a major gain in brain tissue mass in the temporal lobes. If you then quit that, you gradually lose the gain over time. If you stick with it the gain is permanent. He also found that the way we think (problem solve) changes as we age. The paradigm is this: when you solve a problem as you are growing up, it is like reading a book. The older you get, the more problems you have solved/books you have read. At a certain point, you have solved so many problems that it is like you have read all of the books in the entire library. At this point, you have acquired "wisdom". When you are confronted with a new problem, you draw on your accumulated knowledge to solve it. This may manifest as "intuition" or just a "gut feeling", but the solution is correct because you have acquired "wisdom" and employed it. As we age, the way that we use our brain changes so we can maintain our mental abilities. (well, at least potentially. Like anything else, it requires effort.) We used to think that insects are stupid (compared to people) because they are small and thus have very minute brains. They can also do some remarkable things that require a lot of smarts - like recognize individual human beings. (think of wasps that recognize the kids who have been throwing rocks at their nest) It turns out that it is not just the number of neurons in the brain but the number of connections to other neurons that each neuron has that indicates the relative intelligence of the creature. The logic then is this: if you continuously learn a lot and keep your mind active, it will remain in good health longer and better. When you acquire transient brain damage you are more able to work around it and it will affect you less. A word to the wise - if you wish to retain good mental health, then you will start with a robust physical fitness routine and keep that up. Why? Because the primary destroyer of mind function is poor brain organ health and that can be improved with simple exercise and nutrition. Good blood circulation is absolutely critical, and that means regular aerobic exercise. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
