DIFFERENT types of meditation have distinct effects on the brain. Tania Singer at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, and colleagues looked at how three meditation techniques affected the brains and bodies of more than 300 volunteers over nine months.
One technique was based on mindfulness meditation, a second concentrated on compassion and emotional connection with a partner. A final method encouraged people to think about issues from different points of view. MRI scans taken after each three-month course showed that parts of the cortex involved in the specific skill that was trained grew thicker in comparison with scans of a control group. For example, mindfulness increased the thickness of the prefrontal cortex and parietal lobes, which are linked to attention control. All the brain changes were matched by improvements in tests of the relevant skills (Science Advances, doi.org/cdw7).
The study suggests meditation courses could be designed like exercise regimes, focusing on particular weaknesses.