Scientists meditate on quiet reflection
Experts have been looking at how meditation stimulates the brain
While a number of people across the world enjoy meditation, it is not proven what benefits it can have. However, recently published research has aimed to shed light on this.
Studies by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University have followed on from work at the University of Wisconsin which revealed that the brains of long-term meditators have more gamma activity than the average person.
The new research has taken this idea one step further by trying to pinpoint the causes of such activity and the benefits people can experience from meditation, which is viewed as an aspect of a number of worldwide religions.
According to Scientific American, experts developed viruses that were then injected into the brains of mice to discover if they could evoke gamma oscillations similar to those seen in meditation.
Not only was the test successful, it revealed that scientists could possibly develop technology that would give people the benefits of long-term meditation in short bursts.
However, what would the benefits be? Writing for the website, Professor Peter Reiner, from the National Core of Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia, said short-term meditation can improve attention span.
He added: "These new experiments provide an interesting twist to the growing field of cognitive enhancement."
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