title: Increased Grey Matter Associated with Long-Term Sahaja Yoga Meditation: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate regional differences in grey matter volume associated with the practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty three experienced practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation and twenty three non-meditators matched on age, gender and education level, were scanned using structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging and their grey matter volume were compared using Voxel-Based Morphometry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Grey matter volume was larger in meditators relative to non-meditators across the whole brain. In addition, grey matter volume was larger in several predominantly right hemispheric regions: in insula, ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex, inferior temporal and parietal cortices as well as in left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and left insula. No areas with larger grey matter volume were found in non-meditators relative to meditators.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study shows that long-term practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation is associated with larger grey matter volume overall, and with regional enlargement in several right hemispheric cortical and subcortical brain regions that are associated with sustained attention, self-control, compassion and interoceptive perception. The increased grey matter volume in these attention and self-control mediating regions suggests use-dependent enlargement with regular practice of this meditation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Sergio Elías
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud Jazmín, Sermas, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suero
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisiología, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: González-Mora
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rubia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D065812:Interoception; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D000068356:Self-Control; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D015013:Yoga / Q000523:psychology*