Research on Sanskrit and Brain Function (The Review, 6.2.2002)

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>From The Review, Maharishi University of Managment, 6. Feb. 2002

Dr. Travis Publishes Research on Sanskrit and Brain Function

Research showing that the physiological effects of reading Sanskrit are similar

to those experienced during the Transcendental Meditation technique has

recently been published in the International Journal of Neuroscience.

Fred Travis, chair of the Department of Psychology and first author of the

study, predicted that reading Vedic Sanskrit aloud but without awareness of the

meaning would have profound effects on the physiology.

Dr. Travis had his 18 subjects read a passage from the Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit

and in modern foreign languages (Spanish, French, or German). In each case they

could pronounce the sounds but didn't know the meaning. He measured EEG, heart

and breath rate, and skin conductance during a session reading the

Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit, during a session reading the same verse in a modern

language, and during a 15-minute session of the Transcendental Meditation

technique.

He found that the pattern of skin conductance levels and EEG power and coherence

during reading Sanskrit was similar to that during practice of the

Transcendental Meditation technique but significantly different from reading a

modern language.

Skin conductance levels decreased during reading Sanskrit and the practice of

the Transcendental Meditation technique, but increased slightly during reading

a modern language. EEG power and coherence were both significantly higher

during reading Sanskrit and the Transcendental Meditation technique compared to

reading a modern language.

Dr. Travis said that the similarity of physiology during reading Sanskrit and

the Transcendental Meditation technique is especially noteworthy because one

reads with his or her eyes open and engages in active perceptual and cognitive

processes, while the Transcendental Meditation technique is done with one's

eyes closed and entails a reduction of mental activity. This suggests that the

state gained during the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique may

be integrated with active mental processes by reading Sanskrit.

Dr. Travis also recently contributed a 1,000-word entry on the Transcendental

Meditation technique to the Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral

Science. The entry begins with the Vedic tradition and ends with the Maharishi

Effect.