Neuroscience Reveals the Secrets of Meditation’s Benefits

Several hundred peer-reviewed studies in the past 20 years have shown that the relaxation response and mind–body interventions are clinically effective in the treatment of many health problems that are caused or made worse by stress. Recent studies show that mind–body interventions may improve prognosis in coronary heart disease and can enhance immune functioning. It is hypothesized that mind–body interventions reduce sympathetic nervous system activation and increase parasympathetic […]

A wakeful hypometabolic state accompanies the practice of a relaxational, meditation technique called Transcendental Meditation. The state is characterized by decreased oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination, respiratory rate and minute ventilation, with no change in respiratory quotient. Arterial blood pH and base excess decrease slightly while arterial blood lactate markedly decreases. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures remain unchanged. The electroenceph […]

Stress is a well-known risk factor in the development of addiction and in addiction relapse vulnerability. A series of population-based and epidemiological studies have identified specific stressors and individual-level variables that are predictive of substance use and abuse. Preclinical research also shows that stress exposure enhances drug self-administration and reinstates drug seeking in drug-experienced animals. The deleterious effects of early life stress, child maltreatment, a […]