Journal of Gyansagar Science Foundation 2013 04 01

Author(s): Sanjeev Sogani, Vimal Jain
Publisher: Gyansagar Science Foundation

Page 63

Dr. Sudhir, Volume 1 Issue 1 April 2013
(electroenphalography) allow detailed studies in understanding the effect of meditation on neural behavior.
Contraindication: However, certain people should not do meditation. Those who are suffering from psychosis, severe depression or confusional states; extreme anxiety states & people who are demented can not and should not do meditation. Physiology of meditation
Dr. Andrew Newberg et al from Philadelphia published a path breaking paper (Jan 2011), that revolutionized the belief of scientific world. It was a SPECT study on Buddhist lamas. It proved that higher meditative states are no more hallucinations, these are actual neurological events, a neurobiological phenomena.
Meditation produces a specific physiological response pattern that involves various biological systems. Effect of meditation are on metabolic, autonomic, endocrine, neurological and psychological systems. These effect are multidimensional and interactive. Neuroelectrical effects: (A) EEG changes: there are usually four types of waves in EEG: alpha, beta, theta and delta. The meditation brainwave pattern is a combination of alpha and theta, where theta provides the depth & profundity of the meditation experience, the subconscious inner space from which creativity, insight and healing spring and alpha provides the bridge or the link, to the conscious thinking mind so that you can actually remember the content of your meditation.
1. The parietal lobe of the brain is thought to be responsible for giving us a sense of our orientation in time & space. By blocking all sensory and cognitive input into this area, meditation results in the sense of no space and no time.
During SPECT study, it was demonstrated that there was significant reduction of rCBF during depth of meditation by Lamas.
Awakened mind brainwave pattern emerges with people doing meditation over years with perfection.
Regardless of their theology, philosophy or meditation technique, in higher states of consciousness, the meditators achieve peak experience, that can be found in all form of creativity and high performance.
In general amplitude of alpha wave improves with slowing of its frequency. Rhythmic theta waves appear & there is increased synchronisation pattern of alpha. There can be transcendental signal and dissociation of perception from the external sense organs. In chronic meditator, we find even gamma waves.
2 The second important finding was observed in prefrontal lobe. As we know, this area is well developed only in human race and therefore human have higher cognition, capacity of judgement, intuitive memory and complex tasks, including tactfulness along with rational evolved behavior with social etiquette. The more the developed area, the person is more intelligent. During deep meditation, it is recorded that rCBF increases in this area. I think, therefore all meditators doing the practice over few months to years, are cognitively more evolved and their behavior is more compassionate. Also it tells us that meditation is a higher state of consciousness. These findings of SPECT study are reproducible, with different meditation. FMRI studies also were conducted by different groups and the results were similar. In fact, FMRI studies literally unfolded the whole circuitry involved in meditation process and demonstrated the significant signal increases in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, hippocampal/parahippocampal formation, amygdala, temporal lobe, pregenual anterior cingulated cortex, striatum and pre and post central gyri during meditation. This indicates that the practice of meditation activates neural structures involved in attention and control of the autonomic nervous system.
During calm & focused attention type of meditation alpha waves are found. During highly focused concentration high beta activity is seen, while theta pattern is seen during imagery and reverie and it improves creativity.
It is observed that even after first meditation session, in a beginner (common person) there is perceptible changes of waves.
MRI changes during Meditation
(B) Evoked potentials Meditation sometimes produces altered amplitude with practitioner seeming to demonstrate decreased amplitude and lateucy for semory EPs. with mindfulness inducing a decrease in habitation. Neurobiology of meditation Neuroimaging with MRI, RCBF (regional cerebral blood flow), MEG (magnetoencephalography) and improved EEG
• PET, SPECT and FMRI allow examination of changes
in regional blood flow, metabolism or receptor (sites of neurochemical and drug actions) activation in the brain in response to various tasks
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