Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging Vol. 191; no. 1; pp. 36 - 43
• Main Authors: Hölzel, Britta K., Carmody, James, Vangel, Mark, Congleton, Christina, Yerramsetti, Sita M., Gard, Tim, Lazar, Sara W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 30.01.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - physiology; Female; Functional Laterality; Gray matter; Hippocampus; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Longitudinal Studies; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical sciences; Meditation; Middle Aged; Mindfulness; Neuronal Plasticity - physiology; Posterior cingulate; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Radiology; Relaxation. Biofeedback. Hypnosis. Selfregulation. Meditation; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatments; Voxel-based morphometry; Posterior cingulate; Meditation; Magnetic resonance imaging; Voxel-based morphometry; Mindfulness; Gray matter; Hippocampus; Human; Volumetric analysis; Grey matter; Central nervous system; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Encephalon; Treatment; Cingulate cortex; Follow up study; Medical imagery; Evolution; Therapeutic schedule; Morphometry
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.08.006

Therapeutic interventions that incorporate training in mindfulness meditation have become increasingly popular, but to date little is known about neural mechanisms associated with these interventions. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), one of the most widely used mindfulness training programs, has been reported to produce positive effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate symptoms of a number of disorders. Here, we report a controlled longitudinal study to investigate pre–post changes in brain gray matter concentration attributable to participation in an MBSR program. Anatomical magnetic resonance (MR) images from 16 healthy, meditation-naïve participants were obtained before and after they underwent the 8-week program. Changes in gray matter concentration were investigated using voxel-based morphometry, and compared with a waiting list control group of 17 individuals. Analyses in a priori regions of interest confirmed increases in gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus. Whole brain analyses identified increases in the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporo-parietal junction, and the cerebellum in the MBSR group compared with the controls. The results suggest that participation in MBSR is associated with changes in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.