1. East MeetsWest:Neuroscienceand MeditationFreddy Starr,M.D.www.homebraintraining.com

2. Freddy Starr, M.D.Graduated with Doctorate in Medicine,1999 Rutgers.Completed residency and fellowship inAdult, Child and Adolescent psychiatry atBU and VanderbiltBoard Certified in QuantitativeElecroencephalogram (QEEG) andNeurofeedback 2008Certified in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing,Eye Movement Desensitization andReprocessing, Nutritional Neuroscience, 3. These are my websites: www.homebraintraining.com www.neurofeedbackvacations.com www.transformational-retreats.com 4. My meditation experienceBegan with Mindfulness while in school.Incorporated meditation into therapyBegan practicing Kundalini and thenVipassanaVipassana retreats are given at no charge10 days silent/ 14-16 hours a day meditationThree stages (Ana-Pana/Vipassana/Mettha)Unbroken chain of instructors for 2500 years 5. What have I receivedfrom meditation Calmness Decreased AgitationMore HappinessMore CompassionMore control over myself and what I do. Equanimity- The greatest lesson Perceived connection with collectiveconsciousness Greater perceived ESP 6. Effects of MeditationTraining Structural changes: cortical thickness, grey matterdensity Changes in anatomical connectivity Changes in functional connectivity (in default modenetwork other networks) Physiological trait changes in the resting state Longitudinal differences in baseline brain activation Changes in autonomic physiology Changes in response to emotional stimuli Longitudinal differences in brain response to stimuli Changes in autonomic physiology Neural correlates of meditation: mindfulness vs.compassion vs. rest activate different regions of thebrain (state changes) 7. Pre/Post VipassanaMeditation Practice 8. Pre and post comparison 9. Psychiatry Res. 2001 Nov 30;108(2):111-21.Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency duringvolitionally meditation-induced, altered states ofconsciousness, and experience of the self. EEG 'gamma' (35-44 Hz) frequency band activitydiffered significantly between meditations. Thus,during volitional self-initiated, altered states ofconsciousness that were associated with differentsubjective meditation states, different brain neuronalpopulations were active. The brain areaspredominantly involved during the self-inducedmeditation states aiming at visualization (rightposterior) and verbalization (left central) agreed withknown brain functional neuroanatomy. The brainareas involved in the self-induced, meditationaldissolution and reconstitution of the experience of theself (right fronto-temporal) are discussed in thecontext of neural substrates implicated in normal self-representationand reality testing, as well as indepersonalization disorders and detachment fromself after brain lesions. 10. Occipital gamma activation during VipassanameditationSee comment in PubMed Commons belowCogn Process. 2010 Feb;11(1):39-56. Doi: 10.1007/s10339-009-0352-1.Epub 2009 Dec 16. Long-term Vipassana significantly increasedparieto-occipital gamma (35-45 Hz) power, but noother state effects were found for the theta (4-8Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), or beta (12-25 Hz) bands.Alpha power was sensitive to condition order, andmore experienced meditators exhibited notendency toward enhanced alpha duringmeditation relative to the control task.occipitalgamma power was the greatest in meditators witha daily practice of 10+ years, and the meditation-relatedgamma power increase was similarly thestrongest in such advanced practitioners. Thefindings suggest that long-term Vipassanameditation contributes to increased occipitalgamma power related to long-term meditationalexpertise and enhanced sensory awareness. 11. Click icon toadd picture 12. Early Studies on Meditation Early scientific studies on meditation Examined Physiology and stress Transcendental Meditation Herbert Benson (1975):Meditation (andother contemplative practices) induce aRelaxation Response., which is theopposite to the stress response. 13. Click icon toadd picture 14. What happens duringstress?http://www.atomicmeme.com/_imgs/learninghub/stressbiol/body_fight_flight2.png 15. Fight / Flight VS. Rest /Digest 16. The Relaxation ResponseDr. Herbert Benson (1975) 17. Meditation Studies [Harvard review of psychiatry. 2009]Dakwar E, Levin FR.Harvard review of psychiatry. 2009; 17(4)254-267 Effect of yoga relaxation techniques on performance of digit-letter substitution [International Journal of Yoga. 2009]Pradhan B,Nagendra HR. International Journal of Yoga. 2009;2(1)30-34Shaolin Dan TianBreathing Fosters Relaxed and Attentive Mind: A Randomized ControlledNeuro-Electrophysiological Study[Evidence-basedComplementary and Alternativ...]Chan AS, Cheung MC,Sze SL, Leung WW, Shi D. Evidence-based Complementaryand Alternative Medicine : eCAM. 2011; 2011180704The Emerging Role of Meditation in Addressing Psychiatric Illness, with a Focus Isolated and Combined Effects of Electroacupunctureand Meditation in Reducing Experimentally Induced Ischemic Pain: A Pilot [Evidence-based Complementary and Alternativ...] 18. Meditation Studies [Conscious Cogn. 2010]Travis F, Shear J. ConsciousCogn. 2010 Dec; 19(4):1110-8. Epub 2010 Feb 18. The physiology of meditation: a review. A wakefulhypometabolic integrated response.[Neurosci BiobehavRev. 1992]Jevning R, Wallace RK, Beidebach M.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1992 Fall; 16(3):415-24.Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep [Sleep. 1997]Mason LI, Alexander CN, Travis FT, Marsh G,OrmeFocused attention, open monitoring and automatic self-transcending: Categories -Johnson DW, Gackenbach J, Mason DC, Rainforth M,Walton KG. Sleep. 1997 Feb; 20(2):102-10. Transcendental experiences during meditation practice.[Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014]Travis F. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014Jan; 1307:1-8. Epub 2013 Dec 23. A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditionalbuddhist and neurobiological perspectives.[FrontPsychol. 2014] 19. The physiology of meditation: a review. A wakefulhypometabolic integrated response.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1992 Fall;16(3):415-24. It is likely that such findings duringmeditation as increased cardiac output,increased cerebral blood flow, andfindings reminiscent of the "extraordinary"character of classical reports: apparentcessation of CO2 generation by muscle,fivefold plasma AVP elevation, and EEGsynchrony play critical roles in this putativeresponse. 20. Evid Based ComplementAlternat Med. Dec 2006; 3(4): 513521Comparing findings of studies ofadvanced practitioners of TibetanBuddhist meditation in remote regions ofthe Himalayas, with established results onlong-term practitioners of theTranscendental Meditation programs. 21. Many parallel levels of improvement werefound, in sensory acuity, perceptual styleand cognitive function, indicatingstabilization of aspects of attentionalawareness. Together with observedincreases in EEG coherence and aspectsof brain function, such changes areconsistent with growth towards a state oftotal brain functioning, i.e. developmentof full mental potential. They are usuallyaccompanied by improved healthparameters and may be seen to beconsistent with growth of enlightenment. 22. Long term changes in brainanatomy : Meditationpractitioners mayhave thicker cortexin brain regionsassociated withattention,interoception andsensory processing,including theprefrontal cortex andright anterior insula.Meditation mightoffset age relatedcortical thinning. 23. The eight week Mindfulness Based StressReduction (MBSR) Program has manybeneficial effects on mental health,demonstrated in randomized controlledstudiesFor example, it helps with chronic pain,autoimmune diseases(psoriasis), anxiety,depression.[See upcoming lecture on Mindfulness andDepression]However, the mechanisms by which MBSRworks are still largely unknown and underinvestigation.For example, a recent study found smallchanges in the brain after 8 weeks of MBSR 24. Hlzel et al., 2011: Mindfulness practice leadstoincreases in regional Participants who m beradiinta gterady f omr aabttoeur td 3e0n sityminutes a day for eight weeks hadmeasurable changes in Gray matter density in parts of the brainassociated with memory, sense of self,empathy and stress. M.R.I. brain scans takenbefore and after the participants meditationregimen found increased gray matter in thehippocampus, an area important for learningand memory. The images also showed areduction of gray matter in the amygdala, aregion connected to anxiety and stress. Acontrol group that did not practicemeditation showed no such changes..From: 25. Recent findings in neuroscience:loving-kindness and compassionmeditation In loving-kindnesscompassion meditation,expert practitioners(compared to novices)show more, not less,emotional reactivity tosounds of people indistress: faster heart beat,and stronger response inthe insula(linked toInteroception andempathy), which cannotbe explained by therelaxation responsehypothesis. Lutz et al., 2008, 26. Pure Compassion. Meditation caninduce strong EEG patterns previouslyassociated with positive emotionality andenhanced adaptive immune functioning:(Lutz et al., 2004, Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences, Longterm meditators Self induce highamplitude gamma synchrony duringmental practice) 27. These high-amplitude gamma band oscillations and phasesynchrony are off-the-chart from the normal range. 28. Benefits of compassionmeditation Compassionmeditation effects onreductions ininflammation andemotional distress inresponse topsychological stress Pace et al., Effect ofcompassionmeditation onneuroendocrine,innate immune andbehavioral responsesto psychosocial stressPsychoneuroendocrinology, 2009Pace et al., Innate immune,neuroendocrine andbehavioral responses topsychosocial stress do notpredict subsequentcompassion meditationpractice time,Psychoneuroendocrinology,2010 29. Effects of Group Practice of the Transcendental MeditationProgram on Preventing Violent Crime in Washington, DC: Resultsof the National Demonstration Project, June-July 1993 This National Demonstration Project to ReduceViolent Crime and Improve GovernmentalEffectiveness brought approximately 4,000participants in the Transcendental Meditation andTM-Sidhi programs to the United States nationalcapital from June 7 to July 30, 1993. A 27-memberindependent Project Review Board consisting ofsociologists and criminologists from leadinguniversities, representatives from the policedepartment and government of the District ofColumbia, and civic leaders approved in advancethe research protocol for the project and monitoredits progress. 30. The dependent variable in the research was weeklyviolent crime, as measured by the Uniform CrimeReport program of the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation; violent crimes include homicide, rape,aggravated assault, and robbery. This data wasobtained from the District of Columbia MetropolitanPolice Department for 1993 as well as for thepreceding five years (1988-1992). Additional dataused for control purposes included weather variables(temperature, precipitation, humidity), daylighthours, changes in police and community anti-crimeactivities, prior crime trends in the District ofColumbia, and concurrent crime trends inneighboring cities. Average weekly temperature wassignificantly correlated with homicides, rapes andassaults (HRA crimes), as has also been found inprevious research; therefore temperature was usedas a control variable in the main analysis of HRAcrimes. Using time series analysis, violent crimes wereanalyzed separately in terms of HRA crimes (crimesagainst the person) and robbery (monetary crimes),as well as together. 31. Analysis of 1993 data, controlling for temperature,revealed that there was a highly significant decreasein HRA crimes associated with increases in the size ofthe group during the Demonstration Project. Themaximum decrease was 23.3% when the size of thegroup was largest during the final week of theproject. The statistical probability that this result couldreflect chance variation in crime levels was less than2 in 1 billion (p < .000000002). When a longer baselineis used (1988-1993 data), the maximum decreasewas 24.6% during this period (p < .00003). Whenanalyzed as a separate variable, robberies did notdecrease significantly, but a joint analysis of bothHRA crimes and robberies indicated that violentcrimes as a whole decreased significantly to amaximum amount of 15.6% during the final week ofthe project (p = .0008). Analysis of 1993 data,controlling for temperature, revealed that there wasa highly significant decrease in HRA crimesassociated with increases in the size of the groupduring the Demonstration Project. 32. Analysis of 1993 data, controlling for temperature, revealed that there was a highly significant decrease in