Can meditation change your brain? - Changing how we view our self
Emotion Regulation
So far we have spoken about 3 ways in which meditation changes our brains.
The first was by strengthening our ‘attention muscle’ in our brains (the anterior cingulate cortex for those neuroscience geeks out there).
The second way was growing the parts of the brain that let help us be aware of what our body is feeling (body awareness).
The third way is through emotion regulation…our ability to regulate our feelings.
Change in perspective of the self
The last way will look at is through changes in perspectives of the self.
This one is a bit more abstract and can be difficult to get your head around.
Meditation training teaches that the self is not permanent and that it changes. The self inhabits the body, thinks the thoughts and experiences the emotions.[1]
As meditation increases our awareness of our thoughts and emotions, those who meditate regularly often report a change in perspective of the self. Neuroimaging studies have found that the brain structures that support processing of the self, are functionally and structurally affected by mindful meditation.
Parts of the brain, known as the default mode network (DMN), have been linked with thoughts about the self.[2] When we think about ourselves, this network is the most active. This increased focus on the self, has been associated with depression[3] and anxiety[4] Whereas, DMN activity is reduced when meditating and is associated with improved health outcomes.[5] [6]
Meditation is associated with a change in how we see our self. It helps us see how self as not-permanent and reduces the parts of the brain associated with thinking about the self. This reduction is associated with improvements in our health. However, more research is needed to understand how this occurs.
Perhaps meditation can help you to change your perspective of the self.
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[1] Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives on psychological science, 6(6), 537-559.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Sheline, Y. I., Barch, D. M., Price, J. L., Rundle, M. M., Vaishnavi, S. N., Snyder, A. Z., ... & Raichle, M. E. (2009). The default mode network and self-referential processes in depression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(6), 1942-1947.
[4] Zhao, X. H., Wang, P. J., Li, C. B., Hu, Z. H., Xi, Q., Wu, W. Y., & Tang, X. W. (2007). Altered default mode network activity in patient with anxiety disorders: an fMRI study. European journal of radiology, 63(3), 373-378.
[5] Garrison, K. A., Zeffiro, T. A., Scheinost, D., Constable, R. T., & Brewer, J. A. (2015). Meditation leads to reduced default mode network activity beyond an active task. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 15(3), 712-720.
[6] Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical psychology review, 31(6), 1041-1056.