The study, published in the journal NeuroImage, found certain regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger than in a control group.
“We know that people who consistently meditate have a singular ability to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability and engage in mindful behavior,” lead author Eileen Luders, a postdoctoral research fellow at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, said in a statement. “The observed differences in brain anatomy might give us a clue why meditators have these exceptional abilities.”
Those who meditated showed significantly larger volume of the hippocampus and areas within the orbito-frontal cortex, the thalamus and the inferior temporal gyrus — all regions known for regulating emotions.
Luders and colleagues examined 44 people — 22 control subjects and 22 who had practiced various forms of meditation — including Zazen, Samatha and Vipassana, among others.
