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Increased Cerebral Blood Flow
During specific cognitive processes such as reading, speaking, and memory encoding or retrieval, blood flow increases only in very isolated parts of the cortex (29,30). However, research on the Transcendental Meditation® technique has found that during this practice there is increased cerebral blood flow in both frontal and occipital parts of the cortex (37), reflecting an integrated state of cortical activity extending over large areas of the brain. (Please refer to chart.) This finding of increased cerebral blood flow also indicates a state of inner alertness during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, because in contrast, during light sleep, there is a decrease in relative cerebral blood flow.
This finding also contrasts to the long-term effects of the aging process; cerebral blood flow usually decreases with aging (38).
All the findings described above — greater use of the hidden or latent reserves of the brain, increased synchrony and coherence of electroencephalographic activity at diverse frequencies and cortical locations, and increased cerebral blood flow widely throughout the cortex — reflect greater integration of brain functioning during practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Increased Cerebral Blood Flow
Through Transcendental Meditation
Individuals who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique displayed significantly increased cerebral blood flow during the practice, in contrast to controls. Increased cerebral blood flow was found during Transcendental Meditation both in the occipital (back) area of the brain, charted above, and also in the frontal area.
Reference:
Physiology & Behavior 59: 399–402, 1996.
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