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Beyond the Relaxation Response
New scientific insights into meditation
Overview
Introduction
Neurological insights
Molecular insights
Conclusion
Verify the claim.
“He’s not dead… he’s, he’s restin’!”
Image source: telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10960199/Monty-Pythons-dead-parrot-sketch-is-nations-favourite.html
“He’s not dead… he’s in very deep meditation”
Image source: independent.co.uk/news/world/asia
“141 benefits”
Physical Mental
Emotional Spiritual
Reduces blood
pressure
Have constant
peace of mind
Younger skin Become more
tolerant
Eliminates insomnia Remove your bad
habits
Sweat less Overcome addiction
Decreases levels of
cortisol
Reduces chronic
diseases
Promotes whole
brain
synchronisation
Increase your
capacity for love
Become more
intelligent
Be more motivated Boosts serotonin
levels
Learn forgiveness
Boosts melatonin
levels
Improve your
judgement
Be more satisfied Improve your
memory
Be one with the
universe
Control your thought
patterns
Reach
enlightenment
Find your purpose in
life
Strengthens the
immune system
Increases circulation Increases endocrine
system function
Increase your
happiness
Slows aging Slows heart rate Improve relations Quit smokingSource: eocinstitute.org
So… what do scientists mean by meditation?
Image source: thedailylama.net
It’s not clear!
“Meditation is a catch-all word for myriad varieties of contemplative practice, just as sports refers to a wide range of athletic activities. For both sports and meditation, the end results vary on what you actually do.”
Daniel Goleman & Richard Davidson The Science of Meditation, 2017.
“There are, then, two paths: the deep and the wide. Those two paths are often confused with each other, though they differ greatly.”
Ibid.
Meditation category Elements of these
categories
Meditation practices
Focussed attention
Gamma (30 – 50 Hz)
and
Beta (20 – 30 Hz)
Voluntary control
of attention and
cognitive
processes
Loving-kindness-compassion
Diamond Way Buddhism
Open monitoring
Theta (5 – 8 Hz)
Dispassionate,
non-evaluative
awareness of
ongoing
experience
Vipassana meditation
Mindfulness meditation
Automatic self-transcending
Alpha (8 – 10 Hz)
Automatic
transcending of
the procedures
of the meditation
practice
Transcendental Meditation
(mantra)
Sources: F. Travis & J. Shear (2010) and Lutz et al., (2008)
• Harvard Medical School
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine
1935 - present
Herbert Benson M.D.
Image source: tantor.com
Herbie says "RELAX”
Image source: shinehypnosis.co.nz
Sympathetic Nervous System:
Fight-or-flight
Parasympathetic Nervous System:
Rest-and-digest
Image source: medicalook.com
Overview
Introduction
Neurological insights
Molecular insights
Conclusion
“Default Page”
Image source: John Graner
The default mode network (DMN) – a network of interacting brain regions.
Image source: G. G. Jampolsky, Love Is Letting Go Of Fear
I can’t…
If only this…
I should…
How dare…
How could I…
Gamma
Beta
Alpha
Theta
Delta
Problem solving,concentration
Busy, active mind
Reflective, restful
Relaxation
Sleep, dreaming
Brain waves
Image source: spectrumnews.org Image source: F. Travis, mum.edu
Typical EEG
Image source: F. Travis, mum.edu
Increased Coherence In TM
Image source: F. Travis, mum.edu
Lutz et al., 2004.
Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony.
Image source: news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/davidson08.html
Hardwired
Image source: source.wustl.edu
Lazar et al., 2005.
Meditationexperience isassociatedwith increasedcortical thickness.
Holzel et al., 2011.
Brain scans of the hippocampus, showing the regions that were affected bymeditation.
Lazar, 2014.
Correlation of improvement of psychological well-being (PWB) and change in greymatter concentration (GMC).
Holzel et al., 2009.
26 stressed individuals participated in an 8-weekMBSR intervention.
A decrease in volume of grey matter in theamygdala, a key stress-responding region, correlated with a reduction in perceived stress.
Size of decrease in perceived stress score
Overview
Introduction
Neurological insights
Molecular insights
Conclusion
Jevning et al., 1978.
Plasma cortisol concentrations changes during TM.
Cortisol
Bujatti et al., 1976.
Changes in levels of serotonin during TM.
Serotonin
Solberg et al., 2004.
Plasma melatonin concentrations in advanced practitioners of meditation.
Melatonin
Kjaer et al., 2002
Dopamine receptor binding studies using 11C-raclopride PET scan.
Dopamine
(b) Meditation(a) Speech
The more dopamine present, the less 11C-raclopride binds.
Telomeres
Telomeres are required for chromosome end protection.
Image source: metabolomicmedicine.com
Telomere length and aging
Short telomeres limit tissue renewal.
Telomere length may predict onset of certain age related diseases.
Source: R.W. Frenck Jr. et al.,1998
Telomere shortening leads to cell death or senescence after many cell divisions
Image source: quora.com
Replication
Telomerase
Telomerase
Telomerase is an enzyme that builds and maintains telomeres.
Provides for shortening by adding extra places of DNA.
With Telomerase
Image source: C. Greider, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Jacobs et al., 2010.
Investigated the effects of a 3-month meditation retreat on telomerase activity and two major contributors to the experience of stress – perceived control and neuroticism.
Post-retreat telomerase activity was significantly greater in the retreat group.
Lavretsky et al., 2013.
39 family dementia caregivers practised meditation or listened to relaxation music for 12 minutes per day for eight weeks.
Hello,
Image source: cnn.com
Hello again,
Image source: theguardian.com
Dusek et al., 2008.
• 19 long-term (average 9.4 years) RR practitioners(M)
• 20 controls (N1)
Blood cell gene profiles determined…
• 2209 genes differentially expressed between M and N1.
• M gave a distinct expression profile which indicated a greater capacity to deal with oxidative stress.
Gene Expression
Heat map of differentially regulated genes in ‘meditators’ (M) and ‘non-meditators’ (N1).
Red = high expression
Green = low expression
Bhasin et al., 2013.
• Analysed the gene profiles of 26 volunteers (non-meditators).
• Completed 8-week relaxation-response training course.
Analysed the gene profiles…
• Beneficial genes had become more active.
• Harmful genes had become less active e.g. NF-kB.
Image source: http://functionalnutrition.blogspot.co.uk
Kaliman et al., 2013.
• 19 experienced subjects and 21 with no experience.
• 8 hours of meditative or non-meditative activities.
• Blood samples taken 8 hours apart.
After 8 hours the experienced meditators showed:
• Altered levels of gene-regulating machinery (epigenetic).
• Decreased expression of pro-inflammatory genes.
Creswell et al., 2016.
• Double-blind RCT.
• Randomised 35 unemployed adults with stress into 2groups:
MBSR group – 3-day retreat with mindfulnessmeditation
Control group – 3-day retreat with relaxationResults:
• Meditation group showed better inter-connections within thearea of the brain related to decision-making and attentionto detail. And had lower levels of interleukin-6, a keymarker of inflammation.
• Still reported stress-reduction benefits four-months later.
Overview
Introduction
Neurological insights
Molecular insights
Conclusion
Meditation has two paths: the deep and the wide.
Meditation techniques in health care are growing in importance.
Scientific studies are focussing on potential mechanisms of action.
Meditative experiences are not just rooted in psychology.
Image source: Eric Thompson, The Neuroscience of Meditation
Thank you
Bibliography
Benson H., 1975, The Relaxation Response.
Bhasin et al., 2013, Relaxation Response Induces Temporal Transcriptome Changes in EnergyMetabolism, Insulin Secretion and Inflammatory Pathways.
Bujatti & Riederer., 1976. Serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine metabolites in transcendental meditation-technique.
Buric et al., 2017, What Is the Molecular Signature of Mind–Body Interventions? A SystematicReview of Gene Expression Changes Induced by Meditation and Related Practices.
Creswell et al., 2016, Alterations in Resting-State Functional Connectivity Link MindfulnessMeditation With Reduced Interleukin-6: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Dusek et al., 2008, Genomic Counter-Stress Changes Induced by the Relaxation Response.
Goleman & Davidson, 2017, The Science of Meditation.
Hassed C., The Health Benefits of Meditation and Being Mindful (www.monash.edu/)
Holzel et al., 2011, Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density.
Holzel et al., 2009, Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala.
Jacobs et al., 2010, Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity andpsychological mediators.
Jevning et al., 1978, Adrenocortical activity during meditation.
Kaliman et al., 2013, Rapid changes in histone deacetylases and inflammatory gene expressionin expert meditators.
Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010, A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.
Kjaer et al., 2002, Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change ofconsciousness.
Lavretsky et al., 2013, A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers withdepressive symptoms: Effects on mental health, cognition and telomerase activity.
Lazar S., 2014, Change in brainstem gray matter concentration following a mindfulness-basedintervention is correlated with improvement in psychological well-being.
Lazar et al., 2005, Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness.
Lutz et al., 2008, Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation.
Lutz et al., 2004, Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony duringmental practice.
Solberg et al., 2004, The effects of long meditation on plasma melatonin and blood serotonin.
Travis & Shear, 2010, Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending:Categories to organize meditations from Vedic, Buddhist and Chinese traditions.
