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| Credit: www.mindfulnessforschools.com |
Anxious? Activate Your Anterior Cingulate Cortex With a
Little Meditation
Scientists, like Buddhist monks and Zen masters, have known
for years that meditation can reduce anxiety, but not how.
Scientists at Wake
Forest Baptist
Medical Center,
however, have succeeded in identifying the brain functions involved.
For the study, 15 healthy volunteers
with normal levels of everyday anxiety were recruited for the study. These
individuals had no previous meditation experience or anxiety disorders. All
subjects participated in four 20-minute classes to learn a technique known as
mindfulness meditation. In this form of meditation, people are taught to focus
on breath and body sensations and to non-judgmentally evaluate distracting
thoughts and emotions.
Both before and after meditation
training, the study participants’ brain activity was examined using a special
type of imaging – arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging – that is
very effective at imaging brain processes, such as meditation. In addition,
anxiety reports were measured before and after brain scanning.
The majority of study participants
reported decreases in anxiety. Researchers found that meditation reduced
anxiety ratings by as much as 39 percent.
The study revealed that meditation-related anxiety relief is
associated with activation of the anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial
prefrontal cortex, areas of the brain involved with executive-level function.
During meditation, there was more activity in the ventromedial prefrontal
cortex, the area of the brain that controls worrying. In addition, when
activity increased in the anterior cingulate cortex – the area that governs
thinking and emotion – anxiety decreased.
“Mindfulness is premised on sustaining attention in the
present moment and controlling the way we react to daily thoughts and
feelings,” lead author Fadel Zeidan said.
“Interestingly, the present findings reveal that the brain
regions associated with meditation-related anxiety relief are remarkably
consistent with the principles of being mindful.”
###
The above story is based on the June
3, 2013 news release by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
The study is epublished ahead of print in the journal Social
Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience:
Zeidan F, Martucci KT, Kraft RA, McHaffie JG, Coghill RC. Neural Correlates of Mindfulness
Meditation-Related Anxiety Relief. Soc
Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2013
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