Meditation and yoga practice linked to reduced volume in brain region tied to negative emotions
Meditation and yoga practice is associated with smaller right amygdala volume, a brain region involved in emotional processing, according to research published in Brain Imaging and Behavior.
For their study, the researchers analyzed data that had been collected during the Rotterdam Study, an ongoing population-based study that has been conducted in The Netherlands since 1990. The study has recruited more than 15,000 subjects aged 45 years or over.
The researchers were particularly interested in a subgroup of 3,742 participants who had responded to a meditation and yoga practice questionnaire and had undergone an MRI of the brain. Many of the participants underwent multiple brain scans, allowing the researchers to examine structural change over time.
The researchers found that meditation and yoga was positively related both to stress and coping with stress. Participants who reported practicing meditation and yoga tended to also report experiencing more stress. But 90.7% of practitioners also reported that meditation and yoga helped them cope with stress.
Participants who reported practicing meditation and yoga also tended to have smaller right amygdala and left hippocampal volume compared to those not practicing — and right amygdala volume tended to decrease over time among practitioners. Research suggests the right amygdala controls fear and aversion to unpleasant stimuli. [Continue reading…]