Mar 18, 2020 21:00:00

Surprising facts revealed from scanning the brain of a Tibetan monk who is a meditation professional

According to past research,

meditation ( Niece ) Is actually changing the brain.) Maturity is fast and aging is slow. '

BrainAGE and regional volumetric analysis of a Buddhist monk: alongitudinal MRI case study
(PDF file) https://centerhealthyminds.org/assets/files-publications/adluru-brainage.pdf

Meditation may have shaved 8 years of aging off Buddhist monk's brain | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/buddhist-monk-meditation-brain.html

A young Tibetan Buddhist monk, Yongei Mingale Rinpoche , has been practicing meditation for many years since she began meditation with her father Turku Ugen Rinpoche at the age of nine. A group of researchers, including David Davidson, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, scanned Mingale Rinpoche's brain over 14 years and compared it to the results of 105 adults of the same age.


The research group paid special attention to the gray matter of the brain. Since gray matter decreases when the brain atrophys with aging, it is possible to measure brain aging by analyzing changes in the structure of gray matter using a method called Brain Age Gap Estimate (BrainAGE) using machine learning. It is possible.

An analysis of the results of Mingale Rinpoche's MRI scans performed four times over a 14-year period showed that Mingale Rinpoche's brain, 41 years old at the time of the last scan, was eight years younger than his real age.33 It turned out that he was old. Davidson commented on the results: 'It was a big discovery that the brains of monks, who have meditated for more than 60,000 hours, are older than the brains of the control group.'

The following is an image of Mingale Rinpoche's brain actually scanned by MRI by Davidson et al.

The study group also finds that Mingale Rinpoche's brain ages more slowly, while brain matures faster. According to Davidson, there is a region in the brain that plays an important role in

self-control , and that part develops in the mid to late 20s. Davidson says, 'It is not clear what effect the development of the brain area on self-control will have. However, because meditation is thought to promote self-control, The suggestion that maturity may be fast is a natural consequence. '

The research group of Davidson et al. Will investigate whether the brain of Mingale Rinpoche was young due to meditation or a healthy diet by investigating people who have been living in an environment similar to Mingale Rinpoche. It is said that it is a policy to check whether it is due to living in an environment with little or no pollutants.

`` Stress not only has a psychological effect but also causes aging at the cellular level, '' said Kiran Rajneesh, a neurologist at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. That's why meditation is biologically justified, 'said Davidson's speculation that meditation is good for brain health.

Rajneesh added, 'This study can be practiced at home, and even a few minutes of meditation can help slow aging.' He pointed out that the effect could be expected.