Prefrontal Cortex: How Meditation Relieves Anxiety, Builds The Brain
How Meditation Strengthens The Anxiety-Relieving Prefrontal Cortex
Where Is The Anxiety Command & Control Center?
As we evolved from Neanderthals to our present human form, one particular brain region has risen to prominence.
From dark caves to sunlit skyscrapers, from incoherent grunting to the world wide web, from the muddy riverbanks to the far reaches of the solar system — we owe everything to our prefrontal cortex.
Known as the brain’s "thought orchestrator," higher level thinking "CEO," and emotional regulator — the "prefrontal cortex" has been identified as the #1 difference between ancient and modern man.
(That's a pretty lofty claim considering how much better looking, taller, and less hairy we are than our neanderthal brethren!)
A highly cited study published in one of the world’s top medical journals, "The Lancet" (Pascual-Leone et al) — brain-scanned 17 anxiety & depression sufferers. What did they discover?
Kind of like that skinny legged guy at your gym who trains his chest and arms seven days a week, the participants "CEO" left prefrontal cortexes were extraordinarily weak when compared to other parts of the brain.
Scientists know that weakness or abnormality within the prefrontal cortex impairs decision making and brainpower — while opening the floodgates to anxiety and depression.
Imagine if you could upgrade this amazing brain region, and in essence — hack evolution! You can, through meditation!
How Meditation Evolves The Brain Beyond Anxiety
A landmark 2005 study by Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Sara Lazar and colleagues showed that the brains of meditators had remarkably more "thickness," "folds," and overall "surface area" in their left prefrontal cortexes — with magnitude directly tied to experience (the more meditation, the stronger the effect).
A study with monumental implications, meditation is now seen by many within the neuroscientific and psychological research communities as the "holy grail" for a variety of mental health issues, especially anxiety and depression.
Is there any wonder why doctors find meditators’ to be the smartest, happiest, and healthiest folks, time and time again?
Traditional meditators have been anxiety-free, happy people for countless centuries, now confirmed by modern science.
