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

Abstract

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.anterior cingulate cortex | anterior corona radiata | integrative body-mind training | relaxation training | self-regulation P revious studies on effects of long-term training on white matter assessed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have had mixed results. Musicians show positive relations between fractional anisotropy (FA) and training in widespread white-matter regions such as the pyramidal tract (1, 2); however, the opposite result of lower FA in musicians than in nonmusicians in this region of the brain was also reported (3, 4). One study has reported that longterm abacus training from an early age enhances the integrity in white-matter tracts related to motor and visuospatial processes (5). Working memory is an important capacity involved in the shortterm maintenance and manipulation of information. A recent study found months of working memory training increases FA associated with the white matter adjacent to the frontoparietal regions critical in working memory (6). Much of the research in training effects on white-matter plasticity have compared experts and novices without explicit training and when training has been used has generally required months to years to produce changes in FA.The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is part of a network implicated in monitoring and resolving conflict among competing response tendencies (7,8). During infant and child development this structure has been shown to change its connectivity (9, 10). These changes have been related to the increasing ability of children to regulate their own emotions and behavior (11).Deficits in activation of the ACC have been associated with attention deficit disorder, addiction, dementia, depression, schizophrenia, and other disorders (12-16). In addiction, hypoactivation of the ACC has been found to be critical to symptoms of craving (17). In tobacco addiction, a circuit involving the ACC and striatum has been shown to have lower than normal connectivity (15). Thus evidence related to increasing the activation and strengthening connectivity of the ACC may be useful as a treatment or prevention of addiction and other disorders.The anterior corona radiata has been identified as one important white-matter tract connecting the ...

Structural and functional neuroplasticity in human learning of spatial routes

“…Sholz et al found that six weeks of juggling training in adults resulted in FA increases in the white matter beneath the right intraparietal sulcus (Scholz et al, 2009). Additional studies now suggest adult FA increases following balance training (Taubert et al, 2010), working memory training in aging participants (Lövdén et al, 2010;Engvig et al, 2011), and meditation training (Tang et al, 2010). A number of reviews and critiques of both the gray matter and white matter changes resulting from relatively long-term, intensive learning or training regimens in adults have recently appeared (Zatorre et al, 2012;Lövdén et al, 2013).…”

Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training

“…Recent mental training and mindfulness research in humans (34-38) has begun to address changes in gray matter volume after the training of higher-level skills, such as present-moment attention and mindfulness based on contemplative practices (38)(39)(40)(41). However, most studies have been cross-sectional, focusing on meditation practitioners and not directly assessing training-related plasticity within training-naïve subjects (42).…”

“…However, most studies have been cross-sectional, focusing on meditation practitioners and not directly assessing training-related plasticity within training-naïve subjects (42). The few published longitudinal training studies on structural plasticity to date have mainly assessed the effects of cultivating a rather broad range of mindfulness-related capacities, including attention, acceptance, and interoceptive awareness (39)(40)(41). Notably, samples in these studies were relatively small, and studies often lacked active control groups; furthermore, testing intervals were short, providing neither generalizable and robust estimates of brain change nor information about the effects of different types of mental practices on plasticity (38)(39)(40)(41).…”

Mechanisms of white matter changes induced by meditation

“…DTI is capable of measuring white matter's structural plasticity. Studies indicate that training or learning alters brain white matter (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Fractional anisotropy (FA) is an important index for measuring the integrity of white matter fibers.…”