Funny how New Scientist is quick to cite this, but has ignored or been derogatory about published research on TM for decades.
In addition, it has been noted that volume of brain does not indicate superior brain. Neantherthals and pre-sapiens had brains much bigger than modern man, but they were not as efficient. The brain has decreased in size over millions of years. In addition, though I am all for such studies, if this was a study on TM, the methodoligies (read them again folks !) would be trashed by most people here (including I suspect the poster??) Also, many here, when it comes to studies on TM (including the poster??) have spent vast amounts of energy and time ridiculing the veracity of something such as the quote from below "The new studies were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, in Washington DC, US." OffWorld. --- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Vipassana, which is a different style of meditation than TM. It's > also being used very successfully for rehabilitation in prisons > worldwide. If you would like to see the the documentary on this, I > could post it again. Very compelling. > > This was the conference which the Dalai Lama also spoke at. The Dalai > Lama and numerous other Lamas and Buddhists have been involved in and > interested in Neuroscience for many years. You'll soon see the > beginning studies coming out on all the different forms of Buddhist > meditation including classes of meditation like TM. > > > On Nov 18, 2005, at 11:55 AM, Dick Mays wrote: > > > This is from New Scientist magazine. It doesn't say what kind of > > meditation people were doing, but the results reported (in studies > > by neutral scientists) are pretty impressive. > > > > Meditation builds up the brain > > 15 November 2005 > > NewScientist.com news service > > Alison Motluk > > Bruce O'Hara, University of Kentucky > > Massachusetts General Hospital > > > > Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it > > makes you perform better - and alters the structure of your brain, > > researchers have found. > > > > People who meditate say the practice restores their energy, and > > some claim they need less sleep as a result. Many studies have > > reported that the brain works differently during meditation - > > brainwave patterns change and neuronal firing patterns synchronise. > > But whether meditation actually brings any of the restorative > > benefits of sleep has remained largely unexplored. > > > > So Bruce O'Hara and colleagues at the University of Kentucky in > > Lexington, US, decided to investigate. They used a well- established > > "psychomotor vigilance task", which has long been used to quantify > > the effects of sleepiness on mental acuity. The test involves > > staring at an LCD screen and pressing a button as soon as an image > > pops up. Typically, people take 200 to 300 milliseconds to respond, > > but sleep-deprived people take much longer, and sometimes miss the > > stimulus altogether. > > > > Ten volunteers were tested before and after 40 minutes of either > > sleep, meditation, reading or light conversation, with all subjects > > trying all conditions. The 40-minute nap was known to improve > > performance (after an hour or so to recover from grogginess). But > > what astonished the researchers was that meditation was the only > > intervention that immediately led to superior performance, despite > > none of the volunteers being experienced at meditation. > > > > "Every single subject showed improvement," says O'Hara. The > > improvement was even more dramatic after a night without sleep. > > But, he admits: "Why it improves performance, we do not know." The > > team is now studying experienced meditators, who spend several > > hours each day in practice. > > > > Brain builder > > > > What effect meditating has on the structure of the brain has also > > been a matter of some debate. Now Sara Lazar at the Massachusetts > > General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues have used MRI to > > compare 15 meditators, with experience ranging from 1 to 30 years, > > and 15 non-meditators. > > > > They found that meditating actually increases the thickness of the > > cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such > > as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula. > > > > "You are exercising it while you meditate, and it gets bigger," she > > says. The finding is in line with studies showing that accomplished > > musicians, athletes and linguists all have thickening in relevant > > areas of the cortex. It is further evidence, says Lazar, that yogis > > "aren't just sitting there doing nothing". > > > > The growth of the cortex is not due to the growth of new neurons, > > she points out, but results from wider blood vessels, more > > supporting structures such as glia and astrocytes, and increased > > branching and connections. > > > > The new studies were presented at the Society for Neuroscience > > annual meeting, in Washington DC, US. > > > > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Or go to: > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > > and click 'Join This Group!' > > > > > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > > Visit your group "FairfieldLife" on the web. > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. 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