Your Brain on Meditation

Studies have shown that ­meditating regularly can help relieve chronic pain, but the neural mechanisms ­underlying the relief were unclear. Now, ­researchers from MIT, Harvard, and Massachusetts General ­Hospital have found a possible explanation.


Researchers study how ­meditating helps improve focus and minimize pain

In a recent study published in the journal Brain Research Bulletin, the researchers found that people trained to meditate over an eight-week period were better able to control a specific type of brain waves, called alpha rhythms.

"These activity patterns are thought to minimize distractions, to diminish the likelihood stimuli will grab your attention," says Christopher Moore, PhD '98, an investigator at the ­McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and senior author of the paper. "Our data indicate that meditation ­training makes you better at focusing, in part by allowing you to better regulate how things that arise will impact you." (MORE)

Source: MIT Technology Review