Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Meditation can not only improve emotional well-being, but also influence the speech functions of the brain, according to the results of a research project by a bachelor's degree graduate Humanitarian Institute Novosibirsk State University in the field of "Fundamental and Applied Linguistics" by Nadezhda Istomina. The results were obtained using electroencephalography (EEG) and concern both speech and motor (non-speech) control of behavior. Her project is part of a larger study conducted by a team led by the head of the laboratory of psychological genetics of the ICG SB RAS and the department of fundamental and applied linguistics of the Humanities Institute of NSU, Doctor of Philosophy Alexander Savostyanov.
— We studied how brain reactions differ in people who practice meditation and those who do not. It turned out that the brain of meditating participants reacts more actively to speech errors. Their neural response was stronger and faster. This indicates a more developed mechanism of speech control, — said Nadezhda Istomina.
The experiments were conducted at the Baikal Meditation Center in Buryatia back in 2018, where the participants were people who had been practicing Buddhist samadhi meditation for a long time, and a control group that had no meditative experience. A total of 204 EEG recordings were analyzed. The participants performed two tasks: stopping a previously started movement on a signal (motor control) and looking for grammatical errors in sentences (speech control).
— The example sentences were as simple as possible, so that even a child could handle them. This helped us focus on the brain’s reaction, not on the complexity of the text. We didn’t want to test grammar knowledge, but to understand how quickly and vividly the brain reacts to an error, — Nadezhda explained.
The most striking differences between the groups were found in speech control. Meditators showed a stronger neural response to speech errors than non-meditators. This effect was independent of age, gender, or personality traits such as anxiety.
For motor control, the differences were less pronounced.
"Here, personality traits played a major role – anxiety, neuroticism level and age. The influence of meditation itself was weaker," she noted.
However, one of the most interesting discoveries concerned the relationship between speech and motor control. Meditators showed a significant correlation between these two systems in the left frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex – in Broca's area, which is responsible for controlling the correctness of speech. No such relationship was observed in the control group. This may indicate that the brain of meditators coordinates speech and motor processes more closely.
"We have shown for the first time that meditation can not only improve general health, but also establish new connections between speech and motor functions in the brain. This opens up interesting prospects – both for science and, possibly, for practice," Nadezhda emphasized.
The study is not yet complete — the work is ongoing, and in the future it is planned to study other possible correlations and mechanisms of the influence of meditative practices on cognitive functions. The team working on the project hopes that the data obtained will help to better understand how meditation affects the brain, and possibly use this knowledge in the treatment of speech disorders or cognitive disorders.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
.