Meditation and the LEFT Frontal Lobe

EEG studies (11 subjects) at University of Wisconsin: The subjects who practiced meditation over a five-week period were found to have increased activity in the left frontal region of the brain. (Fascinating, since meditation is usually associated--or at least has been--with activity in the right frontal activity.) Earlier research has found that this pattern of brain activity is associated with positive moods. (http://www.kurzweilai.net/meditation-effects-on-left-frontal-lobe-found)

Meditation and Brain Connectors

UCLA studies: using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a relatively new imaging mode that provides insights into the structural connectivity of the brain, researchers found differences between the brain of people who meditate and controls. The subjects reported a variety of styles of meditation. Meditation appears to be a powerful mental exercise with the potential to change the physical structure of the brain at large. People who meditate have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. Stronger connections influence the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. Significantly, these effects are evident throughout the entire brain, not just in specific areas. Studies showed increased structural connectivity in meditators throughout the brain’s pathways. The greatest differences were seen within the corticospinal tract (axons that connect cerebral cortex and spinal cord), the superior longitudinal fasciculus (long bundles of neurons connecting front and back of the cerebrum), and the uncinate fasciculus (white matter that connects parts of the limbic system, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, with the frontal cortex).

(http://www.kurzweilai.net/meditation-may-change-brains-physical-structure-strengthen-connections?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b658121db8-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email)
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811911006008)

Brain Region Volume and Criminality?

Studies by Adrian Raine, University of Pennsylvania, suggest a connection between reduced amygdala function at age three and possible later criminal activity. As an aside:

Adult psychopaths appear to have an 18% reduction of the volume of the amygdala compared with non-psychopaths.

The orbital frontal cortex tends to be associated with being antisocial when its volume is smaller; as a group, men have a smaller orbital frontal cortex than women, which may help explain why men as a whole tend to commit more crimes than women.

(http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/21/kids-brains-may-hold-clues-to-future-criminals/?hpt=C2/)

Breastfeeding and the Brain

fMRI studies at Yale University have pointed to a connection between breast feeding and bonding between mother and child. This, in turn, may have implications for increased maternal sensitivity as infants enter their social world. Brain imaging of breastfeeding mothers showed there was greater activations in the superior frontal gyrus, insula, precuneus, striatum, and amygdala while the women listened to their own baby-cry (as compared to formula-feeding mothers). And at 3-4 months post partum, greater activations in the right superior frontal gyrus and amygdala were associated with higher maternal sensitivity. In the past, breastfeeding was associated with benefits to the infant. These studies suggest that some of those benefits may be due to changes in the maternal brain. Were you a breast-fed baby?

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Journal+of+child+psychology+and+psychiatry%2C+and+allied+disciplines%5BJour%5D+AND+2011%5Bpdat%5D+AND+breastfeeding&TransSchema=title&cmd=detailssearch)

Brain and Magic

Ever wonder how the Oracle in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi communicated? Ventriloquism. Ever wonder how faith healers, psychics, mediums, or charlatans appear to defy the laws of nature? Illusion. At least that's the perspective of neuroscientists at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. According to Drs. Macknik and Martinez-Conde, "Magic tricks work because humans have a hardwired process of attention and awareness that is hackable." And because of their work, these neuroscientists are now also members of the Academy of Magical Arts, the Society of American Magicians, and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. They're also on speaking terms with performers such as Penn and Teller, Mac King, and others. If you are as interested as I have been in these types of topics, the book "Sleights of Mind" just might make your day . . .

Heart Health and Your Brain

Researchers recently looked at the association between psychological well-being—specifically, emotional vitality and optimism—on Coronary Heart Disease in middle-aged men and women. The participants were 7,942 British civil servants in the Whitehall II study measured at baseline and five years later. Emotional vitality was defined as active engagement with the world, effective emotional regulation, and an overall sense of well-being. Optimism was assessed by participants rating themselves on expectations for more positive or negative experiences in the upcoming years. A variety of cardiovascular risk factors were measured (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, fruit and vegetable consumption, and blood pressure/metabolic factors). The researchers found that greater emotional vitality and optimism both were protective factors against CHD. (Metabolic factors did not alter this finding, which was similar for men and women, and for individuals younger and older than 55). Positive psychological well-being is a potential health asset that may have far-reaching consequences for cardiovascular health. And the correlation between heart health and brain health? Your brain's receiving a blood supply (including oxygen, macro and micronutrition, and elimination of waste products) is totally dependent on your heart. (http://www.rwjf.org/pioneer/product.jsp?id=72487&cid=XEM_205603)

Brain and High-Fat Diet

How much fat is in your typical daily food intake? Studies at the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence, University of Washington have reported that obesity among people who eat a high-fat diet may involve injury to neurons. Within the first three days of consuming a typical American diet in terms of fat content, rats consumed nearly double their usual daily amount of calories. Both mice and rats fed this high-fat diet continued to gain weight throughout the study. They also developed inflammation in the hypothalamus, a portion of the brain that contains neurons that control body weight. (http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-high-fat-diet-may-rapidly-injure-brain-cells-that-control-body-weight?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=b9d5c3b16f-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email)