Participants, who were between 20 and 55 years of age, engaged in three different types of training for three months each, totaling a nine-month study period. The first training was dubbed the \u201cPresence\u201d module, and was very\u00a0similar to focused awareness meditation,\u00a0an ancient practice that’s\u00a0been studied a lot in recent years. In this study, participants learned to focus their attention, bringing it back when it wandered, and to attend to the breath and to their internal body sensations.<\/p>\n
The second training was called \u201cAffect,\u201d which sought to enhance empathy and compassion for others\u2014participants learned \u201cloving-kindness\u201d (metta) meditation, and did work with partners, the goal of which was to enhance one\u2019s compassion and empathy.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
The last was the “Perspective” module, akin to mindfulness or open-monitoring meditation. Here, the focus was on observing one\u2019s own thoughts non-judgmentally\u00a0and\u00a0enhancing understanding of the perspectives of others.<\/p>\n
The researchers wagered that training in each of these methods would lead to volume\u00a0increases in corresponding brain areas. And this was largely what they found, as they scanned the participants\u2019 brains at the end of each module and compared\u00a0groups against\u00a0one\u00a0another. Training in Presence was linked to enhanced thickness in the anterior prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which are known to be strongly involved in attention. Affect training was linked to increased thickness in regions known to be involved in socially driven emotions like empathy; and Perspective training associated with changes in areas involved in understanding the mental states of others, and, interestingly, inhibiting the perspective of oneself.<\/p>\n
The results are exciting in that they offer an even more nuanced look at how meditation can change the brain, and in a relatively short amount of time. Lots of\u00a0research has found that experienced meditators have significantly altered brain structure and function, but a growing number of studies\u00a0has also found that relatively brief meditation training\u00a0in novices (for instance, the well-known eight-week\u00a0MBSR program) can also shift brain function, improve well-being, and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n
And, the authors say, the results may be applicable in a number of settings,\u00a0for kids and adults alike. \u201cOur findings suggest a potential biological basis for how mindfulness and different aspects of social intelligence could be nurtured.”<\/p>\n
They add that this kind of sensitivity is especially important\u00a0nowadays, as our community becomes more global, and understanding of others’ experiences more essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith growing globalization, interconnectedness, and complexity of our societies, \u2018soft skills\u2019 have become increasingly important,” they say. “Social competences, such as empathy, compassion, and taking the perspective of another person, allow for a better understanding of others\u2019 feelings and different beliefs and are crucial for successful cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meditation, in its different forms,\u00a0may be a powerful way to boost the types of intelligence that\u00a0matter most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s been a lot of\u00a0discussion about what kinds of mental activities are actually capable of changing the brain. Some promises of bolstered IQ and enhanced brain function via specially-designed “brain games” have fizzled out. Meanwhile, meditation and mindfulness training have accumulated some impressive evidence, suggesting that the practices can change not only the structure and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1141],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94717"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}