title: Effects of Long-Term Mindfulness Meditation on Brain's White Matter Microstructure and its Aging.
abstract: Although research on the effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) is increasing, still very little has been done to address its influence on the white matter (WM) of the brain. We hypothesized that the practice of MM might affect the WM microstructure adjacent to five brain regions of interest associated with mindfulness. Diffusion tensor imaging was employed on samples of meditators and non-meditators (n = 64) in order to investigate the effects of MM on group difference and aging. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics was used to estimate the fractional anisotrophy of the WM connected to the thalamus, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex. The subsequent generalized linear model analysis revealed group differences and a group-by-age interaction in all five selected regions. These data provide preliminary indications that the practice of MM might result in WM connectivity change and might provide evidence on its ability to help diminish age-related WM degeneration in key regions which participate in processes of mindfulness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Laneri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dietsche
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sommer
keywords: ACC; DTI; aging; amygdala; hippocampus; insula; meditation; thalamus
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