Meditation and mindfulness exercises modify brain structure and reduce social stress, according to a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Neurology and Cognitive Sciences in Leipzig, Germany. Their work, published in the journal Science Advances, is called the ReSource Project and was based on a study of 160 people who followed three modules of different meditation practices, each lasting three months.
“Our results provide impressive evidence of brain plasticity in adults, through brief, focused daily mental practice leading to increased social intelligence,” explained Tania Singer, the project’s principal investigator.
In the first module, participants were instructed in basic meditation techniques, which require focusing their attention on breathing, on sensations in different parts of the body, or on visual or acoustic signals.
The second quarter focused on socio-affective skills, such as compassion, empathy, gratitude or emotional management, adding new techniques to classic meditation that they had to try out for ten minutes each day in pairs.
In the third module, participants practiced socio-cognitive skills to learn, through specific exercises and also in pairs, to gain perspective on aspects of their own personality based on recent experiences.
All exercises were practiced six days a week for thirty minutes, and before and after each quarterly module, researchers performed psychological behavioral tests, brain measurements with magnetic resonance imaging, and analysis of stress markers, such as cortisol release.
“Depending on the mental training technique practiced during the quarter, participants significantly changed specific brain structures and the behavioral markers associated with them,” noted Sofie Valk, lead author of the article.
At the end of the first module, for example, changes were detected in areas of the cerebral cortex linked to attention, while at the end of the other two, focused on socio-affective and socio-cognitive skills, improvements were seen in aspects such as compassion or perspective taking, with changes in the regions of the brain where these capacities are developed.
Singer emphasized the relevance of these findings for the educational system and clinical application, noting that "empathy, compassion, and perspective-taking are crucial competencies for successful social interactions, conflict resolution, and cooperation."
In addition to affecting brain plasticity differently, the different mental exercises also had a different impact on the stress response.
When participants underwent a psychosocial stress test, it was found that the secretion of cortisol, the stress hormone, decreased by more than 51%, although only after completing the two programs focused on developing social skills; no such decrease was seen after completing the first module, aimed at promoting attention.
However, at the end of each of the three modules, the subjective perception of stress had been reduced.
The results, Singer explains, show that healthy adults can improve crucial social skills necessary for successful social interaction and cooperation and by reducing stress, and that each mental exercise has a different effect on the brain, health and behavior.
"Once we understand which mental training techniques have what effects, we can use them in a targeted way to support mental and physical health," he emphasizes.
Source: elpais.com.uy
