In the group of focused meditators, researchers saw changes in the white matter associated with a part of the brain network related to self-regulation, the anterior cingulate cortex. Changes were noted even after short exposure to the practice, while the same changes didn't occur in the relaxation-oriented group.
Another separate study published last year found that participating in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress.
Using diffusion tensor imaging, several recent studies have shown that training results in changes in white matter efficiency as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA). In our work, we found that a form of mindfulness meditation, integrative body–mind training (IBMT), improved FA in areas surrounding the anterior cingulate cortex after 4-wk training more than controls given relaxation training. Reductions in radial diffusivity (RD) have been interpreted as improved myelin but reductions in axial diffusivity (AD) involve other mechanisms, such as axonal density. We now report that after 4-wk training with IBMT, both RD and AD decrease accompanied by increased FA, indicating improved efficiency of white matter involves increased myelin as well as other axonal changes. However, 2-wk IBMT reduced AD, but not RD or FA, and improved moods. Our results demonstrate the time-course of white matter neuroplasticity in short-term meditation. This dynamic pattern of white matter change involving the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain network related to self-regulation, could provide a means for intervention to improve or prevent mental disorders.Tang, Y-Y., Lu, Q., Fan, M., Yang, Y., & Posner, M.I. (2012). Mechanisms of white matter changes induced by meditation. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1207817109
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