HKU Bulletin May 2012 (Vol. 13 No. 2)

Cover Story Professor Lee began studying the neuropsychological effects of meditation in 2006 and is patiently building up data that shows those who meditate have different brain architecture and functions than those who do not, and that different types of meditation have different effects on the brain. Working with experienced practitioners of both focused attention and LK meditation, as well as novices, she has been able to pinpoint differences in brain volume and in the blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal which indicates brain activity. In one study, participants were asked to respond to specific signals on a computer screen and ignore irrelevant signals. Those experienced in focused attention meditation were the best performers at this concentration task. Interestingly, LK meditators did not perform well, although both groups did better than the novices. However, LK meditators showed marked differences in brain activity in another study that asked them to look at emotional, or affective, pictures. “We couldn’t say who performed better at that task because we didn't have behavioural anchors, but when we looked at LK meditators compared to the control group, their BOLD signals were different and so were the structures of their brains that correlated with the emotional processing network in the brain,” Professor Lee says. What this means is that the effects of meditation are more complex than previously thought. “Different forms of meditation have different effects on the brain. So the implication is that we may use different forms of meditation for a specific purpose.” More research is needed to identify the full effects and potential of LK meditation, but the intuition is that it may help meditators to arrive at a tranquil and calm state. If so, it could have significant implications. “There is a high percentage of people in our community who are affected by emotion disregulation – depression, anxiety, you name it,” says Professor Lee. “Maybe down the road we can look into this. Meditation seems promising for possible clinical application.” Coronal view of the brain Mindfulness over Matter Neuroscience and Meditation Evidence is mounting that meditation can change our brains and help us cope with everyday life. Rub your finger on the same spot for 30 minutes every day and over time, the area of the brain associated with detecting that sensation will get bigger. And so it is with meditation. People who regularly practise meditation have been found to have changes in the volume of their brain’s gray matter and activity as compared to novice meditators. “Experience changes the brain and meditation is itself an experience,” says Professor Tatia Lee Mei-chun, May Professor in Neuropsychology, whose research is showing that different types of meditation can affect different areas of the brain. While most researchers have studied focused attention meditation, which centres on one object or bodily sensation such as breathing and affects the area of the brain involved in concentration, Professor Lee’s team have studied loving kindness (LK) meditation, in which practitioners elicit compassionate feelings for themselves and others. They have found that this form of meditation also affects the brain, but in the regions involved with regulating emotions and mood. Such findings are generating excitement outside of neuroscience because they hint at the potential for meditation – also called mindfulness – to improve people’s daily lives. In medicine, for example, it is seen as a way to help medical students look beyond clinical knowledge and consider the conditions of both the patient and themselves. The Faculty of Medicine has made mindfulness a key component of its medical humanities programme. “The skill of mindfulness,” says Chair Professor Chan Li-chong of the Department of Pathology, “is to bring the mind back to the present moment and stop it from ruminating on the past or worrying about the future. And certainly you can use mindfulness to engage in the things doctors do, like mindful communication with patients, active listening, and being aware of one’s emotions without making judgements when facing an angry patient. Often we terminate the conversation with the patient because we have made a judgement already.” The Centre of Buddhist Studies has also shown that secondary school students can benefit from a practice that for centuries has been largely associated with spirituality. The Centre ran a programme in local secondary schools in which students’ ‘sense of coherence’ – their ability to comprehend, manage and find the meaning of life – was enhanced by the interaction of Buddhist teachings and workshops which included meditation. “Sense of coherence has been strongly linked to both physical and mental health outcomes. So if we can enhance it, this would enhance students’ ability to handle stress,” says Venerable Sik Hin Hung, Acting Director of the Centre of Buddhist Studies. In the pressured, time-constrained conditions of modern living, taking a moment to breathe deeply and calm the mind may prove to be a welcome boost to our well-being. Different forms of meditation have different effects on the brain. Professor Tatia Lee 13 May 2012 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin