I. Introduction
A. Rationale/Significance
The objective of the proposed research is to determine if a daily meditation routine (100 minutes a day, everyday, for 8 weeks) can stimulate the growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of the adolescent brain. Research has shown that a daily meditation practice can stimulate the growth of gray matter in different regions of the adult brain, including the frontal lobe. This experiment will allow me to learn more about the adolescent brain by determining if a daily meditation practice can stimulate the growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of the adolescent brain.
B. Scientific Background
Studies on meditation have shown that meditation facilitates positive functioning in the frontal lobe of the brain (Collura et al., 2014). The frontal lobe of the brain plays a role in decision making/reasoning, memory formation, emotions, and personality. Studies on meditation have also shown that an active meditation practice can alter the structure of adult brains (Luders et al., 2009). A daily meditation practice can cause gray matter to grow in different regions of the adult brain (Hölzel et al., 2009). This gray matter grows in brain regions such as the posterior cingulate cortex, left temporal-parietal junction, cerebellum, and brainstem (Hölzel et al., 2009). It has been established that the adolescent brain varies greatly from the adult brain. The adolescent brain has more gray matter than adult brains; however, it does experience synaptic pruning. Synaptic pruning is a process in which the amount of neurons and synapses in the brain is reduced. Overall, the adolescent brain is much less developed than the adult brain. These differences between the adult and adolescent brain are what make this experiment novel. All previous studies involving the impact of meditation on gray matter in the brain have solely utilized adult brains.
II. Specific Aim
AIM: To determine if a daily meditation routine (100 minutes a day, everyday, for 8 weeks) can stimulate the growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of the adolescent brain.
III. Experimental Design
A. Materials and Methods
This study will involve 100 volunteers between the ages of 14 and 19. There will be 50 active meditation practitioners (25 male, 25 female) and 50 controls (25 male, 25 female). All volunteers should be enrolled in school, have no neurological disorders, should not be on any medications, and have never meditated before. The meditation practice utilized in the study will be insight meditation (Vipassana). The study will take place in a meditation retreat, such as an Insight Meditation Society retreat, where all variables of the participants’ experience during the study could be monitored and controlled. For 8 weeks, the active meditators would meditate for 20 minutes, 5 times a day. The controls would not meditate. One week prior to the experiment and one week after the experiment concluded, I would utilize a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to scan images of the participants’ brains before and after the study (Hölzel et al., 2009). An MRI machine uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to produce images of structures within the body. This machine would allow me to view and compare any changes in gray matter density in the brains. I would also utilize voxel- based morphometry (VBM) to analyze the images of the brains (Luders et al., 2009). VMB is a form of neuroimaging analysis, which uses statistical parametric mapping to compare differences in brain anatomy.
B. Anticipated Results
The active meditators will experience a growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of their brains. The control group will not experience a growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of their brains. The data collected would consist of MRIs and charts showing changes in the growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of the brains.
C. Potential Problems and Pitfalls
One potential problem is that the active meditators would not experience a growth of gray matter in the frontal lobe of their brains. In a response to this problem, I would increase the length of the experiment (12 weeks instead of 8 weeks). If I continued to see a lack of change in the amount of gray matter in the frontal lobe of their brains, I would use participants in the experiment who had experience meditating for at least one year prior to the experiment or I would utilize a different form of meditation such as Zen meditation.
III. Conclusion
As stated earlier in this grant proposal, the frontal lobe plays an important role in memory formation, emotions, decision making/reasoning, and personality. An increase in gray matter in the frontal lobe of the brain would not only benefit the neuronal network, but it also would enhance one’s own capabilities to perform functions associated with the frontal lobe. It would especially benefit adolescents whose brains are still developing. Adolescent brains are in a slightly vulnerable stage, as they are still growing so they can still be heavily impacted by different activities and practices. Therefore, a practice like meditation could have positive permanent effects on the structure of their brains, such as an increase in gray matter. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that 83% of adolescents felt stressed by school related pressures and 42% of adolescents said that they felt either like they were not doing enough to manage their stress or they were not sure if they were doing enough to manage it. A daily meditation practice would be a great way for adolescents to manage their stress, as meditation also plays a key role in diminishing stress/anxiety levels. Overall, meditation can help people manage their stress levels and manifest compassion in their lives.
