This document discusses East meets West neuroscience and meditation. It provides biographical information on Dr. Freddy Starr and his experience with meditation. It then summarizes various studies that have examined the physiological and brain-based effects of meditation, finding things like increased cortical thickness, changes in functional connectivity in brain regions, and different patterns of brain activity during different types of meditation like loving-kindness meditation.

1. East Meets
West:
Neuroscience
and Meditation
Freddy Starr,
M.D.
www.homebraintraining.com

2. Freddy Starr, M.D.
Graduated with Doctorate in Medicine,
1999 Rutgers.
Completed residency and fellowship in
Adult, Child and Adolescent psychiatry at
BU and Vanderbilt
Board Certified in Quantitative
Elecroencephalogram (QEEG) and
Neurofeedback 2008
Certified in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing,
Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing, Nutritional Neuroscience,

3. These are my websites:
 www.homebraintraining.com
 www.neurofeedbackvacations.com
 www.transformational-retreats.com

4. My meditation experience
Began with Mindfulness while in school.
Incorporated meditation into therapy
Began practicing Kundalini and then
Vipassana
Vipassana retreats are given at no charge
10 days silent/ 14-16 hours a day meditation
Three stages (Ana-Pana/Vipassana/Mettha)
Unbroken chain of instructors for 2500 years

5. What have ‘I’ received
from meditation
 Calmness
 Decreased Agitation
More Happiness
More Compassion
More control over myself and what I do.
 Equanimity- The greatest lesson
 Perceived connection with collective
consciousness
 Greater perceived “ESP”

6. Effects of Meditation
Training  Structural changes: cortical thickness, grey matter
density
 Changes in anatomical connectivity
 Changes in functional connectivity (in default mode
network other networks)
 Physiological “trait” changes in the resting state
 Longitudinal differences in baseline brain activation
 Changes in autonomic physiology
 Changes in response to emotional stimuli
 Longitudinal differences in brain response to stimuli
 Changes in autonomic physiology
 Neural correlates of meditation: mindfulness vs.
compassion vs. rest activate different regions of the
brain (“state” changes)

8. Pre/Post Vipassana
Meditation Practice

9. Pre and post comparison

12. Psychiatry Res. 2001 Nov 30;108(2):111-21.
Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency during
volitionally meditation-induced, altered states of
consciousness, and experience of the self.
 EEG 'gamma' (35-44 Hz) frequency band activity
differed significantly between meditations. Thus,
during volitional self-initiated, altered states of
consciousness that were associated with different
subjective meditation states, different brain neuronal
populations were active. The brain areas
predominantly involved during the self-induced
meditation states aiming at visualization (right
posterior) and verbalization (left central) agreed with
known brain functional neuroanatomy. The brain
areas involved in the self-induced, meditational
dissolution and reconstitution of the experience of the
self (right fronto-temporal) are discussed in the
context of neural substrates implicated in normal self-representation
and reality testing, as well as in
depersonalization disorders and detachment from
self after brain lesions.

13. Occipital gamma activation during Vipassana
meditation
See comment in PubMed Commons belowCogn Process. 2010 Feb;11(1):39-56. Doi: 10.1007/s10339-009-0352-1.
Epub 2009 Dec 16.
 Long-term Vipassana …significantly increased
parieto-occipital gamma (35-45 Hz) power, but no
other state effects were found for the theta (4-8
Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), or beta (12-25 Hz) bands.
Alpha power was sensitive to condition order, and
more experienced meditators exhibited no
tendency toward enhanced alpha during
meditation relative to the control task….occipital
gamma power was the greatest in meditators with
a daily practice of 10+ years, and the meditation-related
gamma power increase was similarly the
strongest in such advanced practitioners. The
findings suggest that long-term Vipassana
meditation contributes to increased occipital
gamma power related to long-term meditational
expertise and enhanced sensory awareness.

14. Click icon to
add picture

17. Early Studies on Meditation
 Early scientific studies on meditation
 Examined Physiology and “stress”
 Transcendental Meditation
 Herbert Benson (1975):Meditation (and
other contemplative practices) induce a
“Relaxation Response.”, which is the
opposite to the “stress response.”

18. Click icon to
add picture

19. What happens during
stress?
http://www.atomicmeme.com/_imgs/learninghub/stressbiol/body_fight_flight2.png

20. Fight / Flight VS. Rest /
Digest

21. “The Relaxation Response”
Dr. Herbert Benson (1975)

23. Meditation Studies
 [Harvard review of psychiatry. 2009]Dakwar E, Levin FR.
Harvard review of psychiatry. 2009; 17(4)254-267
 Effect of yoga relaxation techniques on performance of digit-letter substitution [International Journal of Yoga. 2009]Pradhan B,
Nagendra HR. International Journal of Yoga. 2009;
2(1)30-34
Shaolin Dan Tian
Breathing Fosters Relaxed and Attentive Mind: A Randomized Controlled
Neuro-Electrophysiological Study[Evidence-based
Complementary and Alternativ...]Chan AS, Cheung MC,
Sze SL, Leung WW, Shi D. Evidence-based Complementary
and Alternative Medicine : eCAM. 2011; 2011180704
The Emerging Role of Meditation in Addressing Psychiatric Illness, with a Focus  Isolated and Combined Effects of Electroacupuncture
and Meditation in Reducing Experimentally Induced Ischemic Pain: A Pilot [Evidence-based Complementary and Alternativ...]

24. Meditation Studies
 [Conscious Cogn. 2010]Travis F, Shear J. Conscious
Cogn. 2010 Dec; 19(4):1110-8. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
 The physiology of meditation: a review. A wakeful
hypometabolic integrated response.[Neurosci Biobehav
Rev. 1992]Jevning R, Wallace RK, Beidebach M.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1992 Fall; 16(3):415-24.
Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep [Sleep. 1997]Mason LI, Alexander CN, Travis FT, Marsh G,
Orme
Focused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending: Categories -Johnson DW, Gackenbach J, Mason DC, Rainforth M,
Walton KG. Sleep. 1997 Feb; 20(2):102-10.
 Transcendental experiences during meditation practice.
[Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014]Travis F. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014
Jan; 1307:1-8. Epub 2013 Dec 23.
 A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional
buddhist and neurobiological perspectives.[Front
Psychol. 2014]

25. The physiology of meditation: a review. A wakeful
hypometabolic integrated response.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1992 Fall;16(3):415-24.
 “It is likely that such findings during
meditation as increased cardiac output,
increased cerebral blood flow, and
findings reminiscent of the "extraordinary"
character of classical reports: apparent
cessation of CO2 generation by muscle,
fivefold plasma AVP elevation, and EEG
synchrony play critical roles in this putative
response.”

26. Evid Based Complement
Alternat Med. Dec 2006; 3(4): 513–521

Comparing findings of studies of
advanced practitioners of Tibetan
Buddhist meditation in remote regions of
the Himalayas, with established results on
long-term practitioners of the
Transcendental Meditation programs.

27.  Many parallel levels of improvement were
found, in sensory acuity, perceptual style
and cognitive function, indicating
stabilization of aspects of attentional
awareness. Together with observed
increases in EEG coherence and aspects
of brain function, such changes are
consistent with growth towards a state of
total brain functioning, i.e. development
of full mental potential. They are usually
accompanied by improved health
parameters and may be seen to be
consistent with growth of enlightenment.

28. Long term changes in brain
anatomy :
 Meditation
practitioners may
have thicker cortex
in brain regions
associated with
attention,
interoception and
sensory processing,
including the
prefrontal cortex and
right anterior insula.
Meditation might
offset age related
cortical thinning.

29. The eight week Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction (MBSR) Program has many
beneficial effects on mental health,
demonstrated in randomized controlled
studies
For example, it helps with chronic pain,
autoimmune diseases(psoriasis), anxiety,
depression.…
[See upcoming lecture on Mindfulness and
Depression]
However, the mechanisms by which MBSR
works are still largely unknown and under
investigation.
For example, a recent study found small
changes in the brain after 8 weeks of MBSR

30. Hölzel et al., 2011: Mindfulness practice leads
to
increases in regional  “Participants who m beradiinta gterady f omr aabttoeur td 3e0n sity
minutes a day for eight weeks had
measurable changes in
 Gray matter density in parts of the brain
associated with memory, sense of self,
empathy and stress. M.R.I. brain scans taken
before and after the participants meditation
regimen found increased gray matter in the
hippocampus, an area important for learning
and memory. The images also showed a
reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a
region connected to anxiety and stress. A
control group that did not practice
meditation showed no such changes..”
From:

32. Recent findings in neuroscience:
loving-kindness and compassion
meditation
 In loving-kindness
compassion meditation,
expert practitioners
(compared to novices)
show more, not less,
emotional reactivity to
sounds of people in
distress: faster heart beat,
and stronger response in
the insula(linked to
Interoception and
empathy), which cannot
be explained by the
relaxation response
hypothesis. Lutz et al., 2008,

33.  “Pure Compassion.” Meditation can
induce strong EEG patterns previously
associated with positive emotionality and
enhanced adaptive immune functioning:
(Lutz et al., 2004, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, Long
term meditators Self induce high
amplitude gamma synchrony during
mental practice)

34. These high-amplitude gamma band oscillations and phase
synchrony are “off-the-chart” from the normal range.

35. Benefits of compassion
meditation
 Compassion
meditation effects on
reductions in
inflammation and
emotional distress in
response to
psychological stress
 Pace et al., Effect of
compassion
meditation on
neuroendocrine,
innate immune and
behavioral responses
to psychosocial stress
Psychoneuroendocrino
logy, 2009
Pace et al., Innate immune,
neuroendocrine and
behavioral responses to
psychosocial stress do not
predict subsequent
compassion meditation
practice time,
Psychoneuroendocrinology,
2010

36. Effects of Group Practice of the Transcendental Meditation
Program on Preventing Violent Crime in Washington, DC: Results
of the National Demonstration Project, June-July 1993
 This National Demonstration Project to Reduce
Violent Crime and Improve Governmental
Effectiveness brought approximately 4,000
participants in the Transcendental Meditation and
TM-Sidhi programs to the United States national
capital from June 7 to July 30, 1993. A 27-member
independent Project Review Board consisting of
sociologists and criminologists from leading
universities, representatives from the police
department and government of the District of
Columbia, and civic leaders approved in advance
the research protocol for the project and monitored
its progress.

37.  The dependent variable in the research was weekly
violent crime, as measured by the Uniform Crime
Report program of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation; violent crimes include homicide, rape,
aggravated assault, and robbery. This data was
obtained from the District of Columbia Metropolitan
Police Department for 1993 as well as for the
preceding five years (1988-1992). Additional data
used for control purposes included weather variables
(temperature, precipitation, humidity), daylight
hours, changes in police and community anti-crime
activities, prior crime trends in the District of
Columbia, and concurrent crime trends in
neighboring cities. Average weekly temperature was
significantly correlated with homicides, rapes and
assaults (HRA crimes), as has also been found in
previous research; therefore temperature was used
as a control variable in the main analysis of HRA
crimes. Using time series analysis, violent crimes were
analyzed separately in terms of HRA crimes (crimes
against the person) and robbery (monetary crimes),
as well as together.

38.  Analysis of 1993 data, controlling for temperature,
revealed that there was a highly significant decrease
in HRA crimes associated with increases in the size of
the group during the Demonstration Project. The
maximum decrease was 23.3% when the size of the
group was largest during the final week of the
project. The statistical probability that this result could
reflect chance variation in crime levels was less than
2 in 1 billion (p < .000000002). When a longer baseline
is used (1988-1993 data), the maximum decrease
was 24.6% during this period (p < .00003). When
analyzed as a separate variable, robberies did not
decrease significantly, but a joint analysis of both
HRA crimes and robberies indicated that violent
crimes as a whole decreased significantly to a
maximum amount of 15.6% during the final week of
the project (p = .0008). Analysis of 1993 data,
controlling for temperature, revealed that there was
a highly significant decrease in HRA crimes
associated with increases in the size of the group
during the Demonstration Project.

39. Analysis of 1993 data, controlling for temperature, revealed that there was a highly significant decrease in