| Health Applications And Clinical Studies Of Meditation |
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Health applications and clinical studies of meditation is a growing field of interest within the reported the regression of cancer following intensive meditation (published in the Medical Journal of Australia). Meares would go on to write a number of books, including his best-seller ''Relief Without Drugs''. As a method of stress reduction, meditation is often used in hospitals in cases of chronic or terminal illness to reduce complications associated with increased stress including a depressed Immune System . There is growing agreement in the medical community that mental factors such as stress significantly contribute to a lack of physical health, and there is a growing movement in mainstream science to fund research in this area. Dr. James Austin, a neurophysiologist at the University Of Colorado , reported that Meditation In Zen rewires the circuitry of the brain in his book ''Zen and the Brain'' (Austin, 1999). This has been confirmed using Functional MRI imaging, a brain scanning technique that measures blood flow in the brain. Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard and several Boston hospitals, reports that meditation induces a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body collectively referred to as the " Relaxation Response ."Lazar, 2003 The relaxation response includes changes in metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry. Benson and his team have also done clinical studies at Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan Mountains. Other studies within this field include the research of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts who have studied the effects of Mindfulness meditation on stress. Kabat-Zinn , 1985; Davidson, 2003 Meditation and the brain Mindfulness meditation and related techniques are intended to train attention for the sake of provoking insight. A wider, more flexible attention span makes it easier to be aware of a situation, easier to be objective in emotionally or morally difficult situations, and easier to achieve a state of responsive, creative awareness or " Flow ". Commentary: In the Zone: A Biobehavioral Theory of the Flow Experience One theory, presented by Daniel Goleman & Tara Bennett-Goleman (2001), suggests that meditation works because of the relationship between the Amygdala and the Prefrontal Cortex . The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace, Chapter Three In very simple terms, the amygdala is the part of the brain that decides if we should get angry or anxious (among other things), and the pre-frontal cortex is the part that makes us stop and think about things (it is also known as the inhibitory centre). So, the prefrontal cortex is very good at analyzing and planning, but it takes a long time to make decisions. The amygdala, on the other hand, is simpler (and older Sagan, Carl. The Dragons of Eden; Random House, New York. 1977 in evolutionary terms). It makes rapid judgments about a situation and has a powerful effect on our emotions and behaviour, linked to survival needs. For example, if a human sees a Lion leaping out at them, the amygdala will trigger a Fight Or Flight response long before the prefrontal cortex responds. But in making snap judgments, our amygdalas are prone to error coding of prediction error in lateral amygdala neurons during auditory fear conditioning , such as seeing danger where there is none. This is particularly true in contemporary society where social conflicts are far more common than encounters with predators, and a basically harmless but emotionally charged situation can trigger uncontrollable fear or anger — leading to conflict, anxiety, and stress. Social Anxiety and Social Phobia:Symptoms, Treatment and Support Because there is a gap''The primitive portion of the brain, called the amygdala, feels fear and incites a fight-or-flight response, he pointed out. “It’s very fast, faster than consciousness. But it can be overridden by higher parts of the brain.”The neocortex, which in a mammalian brain is associated with consciousness, is slower but “adaptive and flexible,” designed to work toward confronting fear and making decisions to promote security, Schneier said.'' from RSA ’07: Bruce Schneier casts light on psychology of security between the time an event occurs and the time it takes the amygdala to react, a skilled meditator may be able to intervene before a fight or flight response takes over, and perhaps even redirect it into more constructive or positive feelings. How fear works Meditation and EEG Electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings of skilled meditators showed a significant rise in Gamma Wave activity in the 80 to 120 Hz range during meditation. There was also a rise in the range of 25 to 42 Hz. These meditators had 10 to 40 years of training in Buddhist-based mental training. EEG done on meditators who had received recent training demonstrated considerably less rise. |
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