Increased Grey Matter Associated with Long-Term Sahaja Yoga Meditation: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 3;11(3):e0150757. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150757. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate regional differences in grey matter volume associated with the practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation.

Design: Twenty three experienced practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation and twenty three non-meditators matched on age, gender and education level, were scanned using structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging and their grey matter volume were compared using Voxel-Based Morphometry.

Results: Grey matter volume was larger in meditators relative to non-meditators across the whole brain. In addition, grey matter volume was larger in several predominantly right hemispheric regions: in insula, ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex, inferior temporal and parietal cortices as well as in left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and left insula. No areas with larger grey matter volume were found in non-meditators relative to meditators.

Conclusions: The study shows that long-term practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation is associated with larger grey matter volume overall, and with regional enlargement in several right hemispheric cortical and subcortical brain regions that are associated with sustained attention, self-control, compassion and interoceptive perception. The increased grey matter volume in these attention and self-control mediating regions suggests use-dependent enlargement with regular practice of this meditation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention
  • Brain Mapping*
  • Cerebral Cortex / anatomy & histology
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiology
  • Empathy
  • Female
  • Gray Matter / anatomy & histology
  • Gray Matter / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Interoception
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Meditation / psychology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Parietal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology
  • Prefrontal Cortex / anatomy & histology
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
  • Self-Control
  • Temporal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Temporal Lobe / physiology
  • Yoga / psychology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (ES), Award Number: IPT-2012-0961-300000 (Grant Recipient: JLGM).