Aug 16 2003
There's more evidence that meditation can boost the immune system. People who underwent eight weeks of meditation training produced more antibodies to a flu vaccine and showed signs of increased activity in areas of the brain related to positive emotion than individuals who did not meditate.
This is reportedly the first study to link meditation to changes in brain activity associated with positive feeling and the first to demonstrate that mediation can affect immune function.
The researchers found that some of the biological effects seen in the study continued up to four months after the end of meditation training. Most previous research has focused on meditation’s immediate effects.
The study involved 48 employees at a biotechnology company. Half received weekly meditation training. The meditation employees were also encouraged to mediate at home for an hour a day, six days a week, assisted by audiotapes. All participants also received a flu vaccine during the study.
The researchers recorded electrical activity in areas in the left and front portion of the brain that become more active when individuals experience certain forms of positive emotion and reductions in anxiety. The researchers also tracked immune responses among the employees by measuring the level of antibodies produced by the flu vaccination.
By the end of the study the subjects practicing meditation had more electrical activity in the relevant areas of the brain and higher levels of antibodies than the employees who received no meditation training. The researchers concluded that the increased brain activity was also significantly related to the antibody increase among meditators.
Reference: Psychosomatic MedicineAugust 2003
Last edited 11/9/05
