This item
confirms that meditation will also lead to molecular changes directly impacting
the DNA. The level of such intervention
is constrained of course but it is real nonetheless and something that is of
serious prospective potential.
Directed meditation
may well have direct therapeutic value for a number of ailments and is surely
well worth investigating. One more
interesting avenue for empirical medicine.
Again we are
dealing with the inherent complexity of biological process in which we interpret
through glimpses and a poor man’s tool kit both analytic and empirical, the
process of a great city of motion and activity moving without apparent purpose.
Meditation
Alters Genes Rapidly, Triggers Molecular Changes
January 30, 2014
Elizabeth Renter,
If you are a practitioner of meditation, the results
of a new study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology will likely come as no surprise. But for some
scientists, the revelation that meditating can actually trigger molecular
changes is groundbreaking.
The researchers from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and the Institute of Biomedical Research in Barcelona, Spain
found subjects who partook of 8-hour intensive mindfulness meditation showed
significant molecular changes.
A group of experienced meditation practitioners
spent an 8-hour day in
mindfulness while a control group spent the day in quiet but non-meditative
activities. The meditation group experienced genetic changes including
reduced levels of inflammatory genes like RIPK2 and COX2, indicating faster
recovery from stressful situations.
“The extent to which some of the genes were
down-regulated was associated with faster cortisol recovery to a social stress
test, where participants were challenged to make an impromptu speech or complete mental
calculations in front of an audience.”
In other words, the meditation helped participants
keep cool under pressure.
“The regulation of HDACs and inflammatory pathways
may represent some of the mechanisms
underlying the therapeutic potential of mindfulness-based interventions. Our
findings set the foundation for future studies to further assess meditation
strategies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions,”
explained Perla Kaliman, co-author
of the study.
Far from the first study on meditation,
this is the first to demonstrate molecular changes caused by the
age-old practice.
“Our genes are quite dynamic in their expression
and these results suggest that the calmness of our mind can actually have a
potential influence on their expression,” said Dr. Richard J. Davidson of
the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds.
Meditation has been used for centuries and longer to
assist humankind with their spiritual and health endeavors. In other words,
this study is catching up with what many people have known for a long time—that
the mind can influence the body.
Other studies have linked meditation practice with
stress reduction, IBS and digestive relief, the easing of cold symptoms, and
helping to regulate blood pressure. Meditation was even shown to beat morphine in reducing pain in one small study.
These studies didn’t explain how the meditation was working, but this
most recent one seems to tap a new expanse of potential.
When it comes to the world of science, evidence is
king. Anecdotes and surveys that
reveal meditation to have physical benefits are not as convincing as genetic
proof. Practitioners of meditation may not need that sort of laboratory
evidence, but for scientists it provides a foundation of legitimacy for a
practice they may have previously doubted.
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