Much recent research has discovered that practicing mindfulness meditation is associated with greater psychological wellbeing. The biological mechanism through which this happens is under current investigation. In a recent study, participants took a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course. Both before the course and after, participants had their brains scanned and they filled out questionnaires measuring their psychological wellbeing. Results indicated that participants reported greater psychological wellbeing after the course, and the brain scans revealed that participants also experienced a growth and strengthening of neural connections in certain areas of the brainstem. Further, there was a positive correlation between participants’ psychological wellbeing scores and their increased neural connectivity.
The brainstem is a very old part of the brain, and is central for regulating some of our most basic functions, like sleep, fear, arousal, and eating. The first region of the brainstem whose growth was associated with greater psychological wellbeing is one that is concentrated in serotinergic neurons (neurons that release serotonin). Serotonin has been found to effect sleep, mood, appetite, and conditioned fear, and drugs that change the levels of serotonin in the brain are currently used as treatment for many mood and anxiety disorders.
The second brain region whose growth was most correlated with increases in psychological wellbeing is one responsible for the synthesis and release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. One of norepinephrine’s major roles is to regulate our body’s stress response. This part of the brain is also a focal area of anti-depressant drugs.
Overall, this study reveals that mindfulness causes physical changes in the brain, which in turn help give us the ability to cope with life’s challenges, and help us experience less anxiety and depression and greater happiness.
Keryn Breiterman-Loader
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