Deep breaths: Calming effects of meditation may be rooted in brain stem

yoga

During yoga pranayama exercises people practice controlling the breath, or prana, to induce a state of calm and focus… Research suggests the practice has multiple benefits—it induces an overall sense of well-being while reducing anxiety and improved sleep.

But what exactly is going on in the brain during meditation?…A new mouse study, published Thursday [March 30, 2017] in Science, shows that neurons in the brain stem may also mediate the link between breathing and inducing a state of meditative calm.

Evidence from human research also suggests meditation and respiration are closely connected. In a recent study, for example, Antoine Lutz, a scientist who studies the neurobiology of meditation at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin–Madison discovered long-term meditators develop slower breathing patterns than those who did not practice on a regular basis…

According to Lutz, the findings from latest Science paper raise the possibility that “any form of practice—from yoga, pranayama to meditation—that is actively manipulating respiration might be using this pathway to regulate some aspects of arousal.”

Understanding how the brain controls breathing could also help develop new therapeutic targets to treat conditions such as anxiety, panic disorders and arousal-related sleep disorders.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Meditation’s Calming Effects Pinpointed in Brain

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