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Improvement in Abilities That Usually Decline With Aging
Decline in cognitive functioning with aging is assumed to be associated with neuronal loss (5).
Research has shown, however, that practice of the Transcendental Meditation® technique improves many physiological, cognitive, and behavioral variables that usually decline with aging. These include changes in the following variables most closely related to brain functioning: increased cerebral blood flow (37), increased EEG alpha power (32,33), faster response (shorter latency) of P300 evoked brain potentials (41–44), increased learning ability and improved memory (56), increased creativity (57), increased intelligence (50,51), faster reaction time (50), increased field independence (53), and increased behavioral flexibility (56).
These developments, opposite in direction from the aging process, suggest continued brain development and increased integration of cortical functioning in adulthood through the experience of Transcendental Consciousness.
In addition, a wide range of other developments opposite in direction to the aging process occur through regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, including decreased susceptibility to stress (54), reduction of high blood pressure (58), reduced cardiovascular disease (59), increased serum DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, an adrenal hormone related to good health in the elderly) (60), increased efficiency of endocrine control (55), and reduced depression (61). (Please refer to the “Reversal of Aging” chart which follows on the next page.)
These results indicate greater integration and effectiveness in the total functioning of the brain and related physiological processes; that is, greater integration and effectiveness in the interrelationship among the cerebral cortex, the subcortical structures of the brain, the autonomic nervous system, and neuroendocrine processes. |
