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Estimating brain age using high-resolution pattern recognition: Younger brains in long-term meditation practitioners
Eileen Luders1, Nicolas Cherbuin2, Christian Gaser3
1Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA; Centre for Research on Ageing Health and Wellbeing, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Neuroimage
|April 16, 2016
Summary
Long-term meditation practice may significantly slow brain aging. In individuals over fifty, meditators showed brains estimated to be 7.5 years younger than non-meditators, suggesting brain preservation benefits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Psychology
Background:
- Normal aging is characterized by brain volume reduction.
- Mid-life marks a period of increased prominence in aging processes.
- The impact of lifestyle factors like meditation on brain aging requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if long-term meditation practice is associated with a reduced brain age.
- To specifically examine this association in individuals aged fifty and older.
- To determine if meditation practice influences the rate of brain aging over time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a machine learning algorithm to calculate a BrainAGE index (brain age score).
- Applied a validated high-dimensional pattern recognition approach.
- Compared brain age estimates between a group of 50 long-term meditators and 50 control subjects.
Main Results:
- At age fifty, meditators' brains were estimated to be 7.5 years younger than controls.
- For individuals over fifty, meditators showed a slower rate of brain aging.
- Meditators' brains aged approximately 1 month and 22 days younger per chronological year over fifty.
Conclusions:
- Meditation practice appears beneficial for brain preservation.
- Meditation may offer protection against age-related brain atrophy.
- Findings suggest a consistently slower rate of brain aging in long-term meditators throughout life.
