Mindfulness meditation has been linked to reduced stress hormone levels, remodeling of white matter tracts around the brain’s anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and reduced anxiety in previous studies.
Using optogenetic tools, researchers tested whether rhythmic stimulation or suppression of ACC activity at frequencies reminiscent of meditation training influences anxiety in mice.
Compared with mice that received no intervention and mice in which rhythmic ACC activity was suppressed, mice in which rhythmic ACC activity was induced in a month-long intervention over 20 sessions lasting 30 minutes each exhibited less anxiety, as indicated by their willingness to explore an illuminated environment in a well-established laboratory test of anxiety.
Further, reduced anxiety was associated largely with 1 Hz and 8 Hz stimulation, but not with 40 Hz stimulation. Rhythmic stimulation of the ACC appeared not to affect the animals’ spontaneous motor activity, cognitive ability, or memory in an experimental setup, suggesting that the observed effects of rhythmic stimulation might reflect its effect on anxiety.
Additional tests may help cement a link between rhythmic ACC stimulation and anxiety, but the study furnishes a potential animal model for the fine-grained analysis of the effects of some forms of meditation on the human brain, according to the authors.
Mouse model for brain effects of meditation
- 1,423 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
A signaling molecule that potently stimulates hair growth
New pathway for accumulation of age-promoting 'zombie cells'
Protecting the brain from dementia-inducing abnormal protein aggregates
Why many cancer cells need to import fat
Role of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) in fragile X-syndrome
Other Top Stories
Untangling the proteins that trigger some cancerous tumors
Neutrophil elastase selectively kills cancer cells and attenuates tumorigenesis
An omega-3 fatty acid kills tumor by ferroptosis
Extracellular mRNA transported to the nucleus prevents cancer metastasis
Cancer immunotherapy may self-limit its efficacy
Protocols
Light and electron microscopic imaging of synaptic vesicle endocytosis at mouse hippocampal cultures
FLAMBE: A kinetic fluorescence polarization assay to study activation of monomeric BAX
Single-cell mass spectrometry
A behavioral paradigm for measuring perceptual distances in mice
Rapid detection of an Ebola biomarker with optical microring resonators
Publications
Cough hypersensitivity and chronic cough
Telomeric 8-oxo-guanine drives rapid premature senescence in the absence of telomere shortening
The why and how of adaptive immune responses in ischemic cardiovascular disease
Central role for p62/SQSTM1 in the elimination of toxic tau species in a mouse model of tauopathy
MicroRNA-124-3p-enriched small extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic approach for Parkinson's d…
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
Lipids
Cell biology of carbohydrate metabolism
RNA interference (RNAi)
RNA structure and functions
Posters
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CANCER–KIDNEY AND BLADDER
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CANCER–PROSTATE, TESTICULAR, AND PENILE
ASCO-2020-GYNECOLOGIC CANCER