Although the systematic study of meditation is still in its infancy, research has provided evidence for meditation-induced improvements in psychological and physiological well-being. Moreover, findings in clinical populations suggest that meditation is effective in reducing a number of psychological and physical symptoms, and even biological markers of disease progression. Finally, meditation practice has been demonstrated to affect higher functions of the central nervous system, reflected in increased performances and altered brain activity. Using high-resolution MRI data, researchers have set out to discover the links to brain structure. They found significantly larger gray matter volumes in meditators in the right orbito-frontal cortex as well as in the right thalamus and left inferior temporal gyrus. In addition, meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the right hippocampus. Both orbito-frontal and hippocampal regions have been implicated in emotional regulation and response control. Thus, larger volumes in these regions might account for meditators’ singular abilities and habits to cultivate positive emotions, retain emotional stability, and engage in mindful behavior.

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