beyond the relaxation response€¦ · benson h., 1975, the relaxation response. bhasin et al.,...

Beyond the Relaxation Response

New scientific insights into meditation

Overview

Introduction

Neurological insights

Molecular insights

Conclusion

Verify the claim.

“He’s not dead… he’s, he’s restin’!”

Image source: telegraph.co.uk/culture/comedy/10960199/Monty-Pythons-dead-parrot-sketch-is-nations-favourite.html

“He’s not dead… he’s in very deep meditation”

Image source: independent.co.uk/news/world/asia

“141 benefits”

Physical Mental

Emotional Spiritual

Reduces blood

pressure

Have constant

peace of mind

Younger skin Become more

tolerant

Eliminates insomnia Remove your bad

habits

Sweat less Overcome addiction

Decreases levels of

cortisol

Reduces chronic

diseases

Promotes whole

brain

synchronisation

Increase your

capacity for love

Become more

intelligent

Be more motivated Boosts serotonin

levels

Learn forgiveness

Boosts melatonin

levels

Improve your

judgement

Be more satisfied Improve your

memory

Be one with the

universe

Control your thought

patterns

Reach

enlightenment

Find your purpose in

life

Strengthens the

immune system

Increases circulation Increases endocrine

system function

Increase your

happiness

Slows aging Slows heart rate Improve relations Quit smokingSource: eocinstitute.org

So… what do scientists mean by meditation?

Image source: thedailylama.net

It’s not clear!

“Meditation is a catch-all word for myriad varieties of contemplative practice, just as sports refers to a wide range of athletic activities. For both sports and meditation, the end results vary on what you actually do.”

Daniel Goleman & Richard Davidson The Science of Meditation, 2017.

“There are, then, two paths: the deep and the wide. Those two paths are often confused with each other, though they differ greatly.”

Ibid.

Meditation category Elements of these

categories

Meditation practices

Focussed attention

Gamma (30 – 50 Hz)

and

Beta (20 – 30 Hz)

Voluntary control

of attention and

cognitive

processes

Loving-kindness-compassion

Diamond Way Buddhism

Open monitoring

Theta (5 – 8 Hz)

Dispassionate,

non-evaluative

awareness of

ongoing

experience

Vipassana meditation

Mindfulness meditation

Automatic self-transcending

Alpha (8 – 10 Hz)

Automatic

transcending of

the procedures

of the meditation

practice

Transcendental Meditation

(mantra)

Sources: F. Travis & J. Shear (2010) and Lutz et al., (2008)

• Harvard Medical School

• Massachusetts General Hospital

• Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine

1935 - present

Herbert Benson M.D.

Image source: tantor.com

Herbie says "RELAX”

Image source: shinehypnosis.co.nz

Sympathetic Nervous System:

Fight-or-flight

Parasympathetic Nervous System:

Rest-and-digest

Image source: medicalook.com

Overview

Introduction

Neurological insights

Molecular insights

Conclusion

“Default Page”

Image source: John Graner

The default mode network (DMN) – a network of interacting brain regions.

Image source: G. G. Jampolsky, Love Is Letting Go Of Fear

I can’t…

If only this…

I should…

How dare…

How could I…

Gamma

Beta

Alpha

Theta

Delta

Problem solving,concentration

Busy, active mind

Reflective, restful

Relaxation

Sleep, dreaming

Brain waves

Image source: spectrumnews.org Image source: F. Travis, mum.edu

Typical EEG

Image source: F. Travis, mum.edu

Increased Coherence In TM

Image source: F. Travis, mum.edu

Lutz et al., 2004.

Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony.

Image source: news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/davidson08.html

Hardwired

Image source: source.wustl.edu

Lazar et al., 2005.

Meditationexperience isassociatedwith increasedcortical thickness.

Holzel et al., 2011.

Brain scans of the hippocampus, showing the regions that were affected bymeditation.

Lazar, 2014.

Correlation of improvement of psychological well-being (PWB) and change in greymatter concentration (GMC).

Holzel et al., 2009.

26 stressed individuals participated in an 8-weekMBSR intervention.

A decrease in volume of grey matter in theamygdala, a key stress-responding region, correlated with a reduction in perceived stress.

Size of decrease in perceived stress score

Overview

Introduction

Neurological insights

Molecular insights

Conclusion

Jevning et al., 1978.

Plasma cortisol concentrations changes during TM.

Cortisol

Bujatti et al., 1976.

Changes in levels of serotonin during TM.

Serotonin

Solberg et al., 2004.

Plasma melatonin concentrations in advanced practitioners of meditation.

Melatonin

Kjaer et al., 2002

Dopamine receptor binding studies using 11C-raclopride PET scan.

Dopamine

(b) Meditation(a) Speech

The more dopamine present, the less 11C-raclopride binds.

Telomeres

Telomeres are required for chromosome end protection.

Image source: metabolomicmedicine.com

Telomere length and aging

Short telomeres limit tissue renewal.

Telomere length may predict onset of certain age related diseases.

Source: R.W. Frenck Jr. et al.,1998

Telomere shortening leads to cell death or senescence after many cell divisions

Image source: quora.com

Replication

Telomerase

Telomerase

Telomerase is an enzyme that builds and maintains telomeres.

Provides for shortening by adding extra places of DNA.

With Telomerase

Image source: C. Greider, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Jacobs et al., 2010.

Investigated the effects of a 3-month meditation retreat on telomerase activity and two major contributors to the experience of stress – perceived control and neuroticism.

Post-retreat telomerase activity was significantly greater in the retreat group.

Lavretsky et al., 2013.

39 family dementia caregivers practised meditation or listened to relaxation music for 12 minutes per day for eight weeks.

Hello,

Image source: cnn.com

Hello again,

Image source: theguardian.com

Dusek et al., 2008.

• 19 long-term (average 9.4 years) RR practitioners(M)

• 20 controls (N1)

Blood cell gene profiles determined…

• 2209 genes differentially expressed between M and N1.

• M gave a distinct expression profile which indicated a greater capacity to deal with oxidative stress.

Gene Expression

Heat map of differentially regulated genes in ‘meditators’ (M) and ‘non-meditators’ (N1).

Red = high expression

Green = low expression

Bhasin et al., 2013.

• Analysed the gene profiles of 26 volunteers (non-meditators).

• Completed 8-week relaxation-response training course.

Analysed the gene profiles…

• Beneficial genes had become more active.

• Harmful genes had become less active e.g. NF-kB.

Image source: http://functionalnutrition.blogspot.co.uk

Kaliman et al., 2013.

• 19 experienced subjects and 21 with no experience.

• 8 hours of meditative or non-meditative activities.

• Blood samples taken 8 hours apart.

After 8 hours the experienced meditators showed:

• Altered levels of gene-regulating machinery (epigenetic).

• Decreased expression of pro-inflammatory genes.

Creswell et al., 2016.

• Double-blind RCT.

• Randomised 35 unemployed adults with stress into 2groups:

MBSR group – 3-day retreat with mindfulnessmeditation

Control group – 3-day retreat with relaxationResults:

• Meditation group showed better inter-connections within thearea of the brain related to decision-making and attentionto detail. And had lower levels of interleukin-6, a keymarker of inflammation.

• Still reported stress-reduction benefits four-months later.

Overview

Introduction

Neurological insights

Molecular insights

Conclusion

Meditation has two paths: the deep and the wide.

Meditation techniques in health care are growing in importance.

Scientific studies are focussing on potential mechanisms of action.

Meditative experiences are not just rooted in psychology.

Image source: Eric Thompson, The Neuroscience of Meditation

Thank you

Bibliography

Benson H., 1975, The Relaxation Response.

Bhasin et al., 2013, Relaxation Response Induces Temporal Transcriptome Changes in EnergyMetabolism, Insulin Secretion and Inflammatory Pathways.

Bujatti & Riederer., 1976. Serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine metabolites in transcendental meditation-technique.

Buric et al., 2017, What Is the Molecular Signature of Mind–Body Interventions? A SystematicReview of Gene Expression Changes Induced by Meditation and Related Practices.

Creswell et al., 2016, Alterations in Resting-State Functional Connectivity Link MindfulnessMeditation With Reduced Interleukin-6: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Dusek et al., 2008, Genomic Counter-Stress Changes Induced by the Relaxation Response.

Goleman & Davidson, 2017, The Science of Meditation.

Hassed C., The Health Benefits of Meditation and Being Mindful (www.monash.edu/)

Holzel et al., 2011, Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density.

Holzel et al., 2009, Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala.

Jacobs et al., 2010, Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity andpsychological mediators.

Jevning et al., 1978, Adrenocortical activity during meditation.

Kaliman et al., 2013, Rapid changes in histone deacetylases and inflammatory gene expressionin expert meditators.

Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010, A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.

Kjaer et al., 2002, Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change ofconsciousness.

Lavretsky et al., 2013, A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers withdepressive symptoms: Effects on mental health, cognition and telomerase activity.

Lazar S., 2014, Change in brainstem gray matter concentration following a mindfulness-basedintervention is correlated with improvement in psychological well-being.

Lazar et al., 2005, Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness.

Lutz et al., 2008, Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation.

Lutz et al., 2004, Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony duringmental practice.

Solberg et al., 2004, The effects of long meditation on plasma melatonin and blood serotonin.

Travis & Shear, 2010, Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending:Categories to organize meditations from Vedic, Buddhist and Chinese traditions.