Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1011043107
• Publication Date: 2010-08-17T04:40:39Z
• Authors: Yi-Yuan Tang; Qilin Lu; Xiujuan Geng; Elliot A. Stein; Yihong Yang; Michael I. Posner
• Keywords: Gyrus Cinguli - Anatomy & Histology - Physiology; Male; Time Factors; Brain - Anatomy & Histology - Physiology; Executive Function - Physiology; Relaxation training; Gyrus Cinguli; Anterior cingulate cortex; Executive Function; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Humans; Meditation - Methods - Psychology; Anterior corona radiata; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Brain Mapping; Brain; 3. Good health; Integrative body-mind training; Meditation; Self-regulation; Female; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - Statistics & Numerical Data

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is part of a network implicated in the development of self-regulation and whose connectivity changes dramatically in development. In previous studies we showed that 3 h of mental training, based on traditional Chinese medicine (integrative body–mind training, IBMT), increases ACC activity and improves self-regulation. However, it is not known whether changes in white matter connectivity can result from small amounts of mental training. We here report that 11 h of IBMT increases fractional anisotropy (FA), an index indicating the integrity and efficiency of white matter in the corona radiata, an important white-matter tract connecting the ACC to other structures. Thus IBMT could provide a means for improving self-regulation and perhaps reducing or preventing various mental disorders.