X Marks the Spot

Love really does change the structure of the heart and brain

[link to www.sciencedaily.com]

snip~

Mindfulness Meditation Training Changes Brain Structure in Eight Weeks

ScienceDaily (Jan. 21, 2011) — Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.
Share This:
4.3K
See Also:
Health & Medicine

Nervous System
Psychology Research
Mental Health Research

Mind & Brain

Spirituality
Neuroscience
Intelligence

Living Well
Reference

Alpha wave
Meditation
Emotional detachment
Yoga (alternative medicine)

"Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day," says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study's senior author. "This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing."

Previous studies from Lazar's group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced mediation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation.

------------

"It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life." says Britta Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany. "Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change."

ROFL

I guess that's enough spamming for aether's thread

Spamming? That was art at its finest from all who contributed.

I was thinking the same thing, lmao

I love it when an emoticon battle breaks out.

Good morning all.

Nice to see you back aether.

:)

GREAT compilation there...

It's amazing to see such detailed visuals in videos now!

morning seer, luna, aether, brazil, sap, et. all.