PENNSYLVANIA, USA, March 1, 2002: Scientists investigating the effect of the meditative state on Buddhist monk’s brains have found that portions of the organ previously active become quiet, while pacified areas become stimulated. Dr Andrew Newberg, a radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told BBC world Service’s Discovery program: “I think we are poised at a wonderful time in our history to be able to explore religion and spirituality in a way which was never thought possible.” Using a brain imaging technique, Newberg and his team studied a group of Tibetan Buddhist monks as they meditated for approximately one hour. When they reached a transcendental high, they were asked to pull a kite string, releasing an injection of a radioactive tracer. By injecting a tiny amount of radioactive marker into the bloodstream of a deep meditator, the scientists saw how the dye moved to active parts of the brain. Later, when the subjects finished meditating, the regions were imaged and the meditative state compared with the normal waking state. “There was an increase in activity in the front part of the brain, the area that is activated when anyone focuses attention on a particular task,” Dr Newberg explained. Also, a notable decrease in activity in the back part of the brain, recognized as the area responsible for orientation, reinforced the general suggestion that meditation leads to a lack of spatial awareness.
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