Meditation Helps Produce Antibodies, Study Finds

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Washington, D.C. (August 15, 2003)- A study has found people

undergoing meditation for eight weeks have the ability to produce

more antibodies to a flu vaccine and showed increased activity in

areas of the brain related to positive emotion than individuals who

did not meditate.

 

The study is the first to link meditation to changes in brain

activity associated with positive feeling, and the first to

demonstrate that mediation can affect immune function, says Dr

Richard J Davidson, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin and his

colleagues.

 

"Our findings indicate that a short training programme in mindful

meditation has demonstrable effects on brain and immune function and

underscores the need for additional research on the biological

consequences of this intervention," a report in the Newswire quoted

Davidson as saying.

 

Forty-eight biotechnology company employees participated in the

study, in which half of them received weekly meditation training.

The employees who meditated were also encouraged to do so at home

for an hour a day, six days a week, with the help of instructive

audiotapes. All participants also received a flu vaccine during the

study.

 

Davidson and colleagues recorded electrical activity in areas in the

left and front portion of the brain that become more active when

individuals experience certain forms of positive emotion and

reductions in anxiety.

 

At several points during the study, the researchers measured brain

activity as the employees rested or wrote about positive and

negative emotional experiences from their lives. They also tracked

immune responses among the employees by measuring the level of

antibodies produced by the flu vaccination.

 

It was found that those meditating experienced more electrical

activity in the relevant areas of the brain and higher levels of

antibodies than employees who did not meditate.

 

The increased brain activity was also significantly related to the

antibody increase among meditators, the researchers said.

 

Source: Asian News International

Courtesy: Hindu Press International

URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_340223,0050.htm