Biological approach: Hölzel et al. (mindfulness and brain scans)

Psychology AS · The core studies. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All Psychology AS topics

The idea

Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment without judging it. Hölzel et al. (2011) asked whether an eight-week mindfulness course changes the structure of the brain. The study also concerns localisation of function: the idea that particular brain regions do particular jobs.

Healthy adults took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course. Their brains were scanned with MRI before and after the course, and the density of grey matter was compared. A control group on the waiting list was scanned at the same times. Questionnaires measured mindfulness, and participants recorded their home practice.

Grey matter increased in several regions in the mindfulness group and not in the controls. Experience can therefore change the adult brain.

Rules to remember

Sample: 16 adults on the MBSR course and 17 waiting-list controls, all healthy volunteers with little or no experience of meditation.
Course: 8 weekly group sessions of 2.5 hours, one full day, and daily practice at home with recordings (body scan, yoga, sitting meditation).
Design: longitudinal, with repeated measures (before and after) and a comparison between the two groups.
Result: grey matter increased in the left hippocampus, the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporo-parietal junction and the cerebellum.
Functions: these regions are linked with learning and memory, emotion regulation, thinking about oneself and perspective taking.
Strengths: objective MRI data and a control group. Weaknesses: small volunteer sample and self-reported practice.

Common mistake

Students say the scans showed the brain working during meditation. The study used structural MRI, which shows the structure of the brain (grey matter), and the scans were taken before and after the course, not during practice.

Worked example

The control group was scanned twice, eight weeks apart, without taking the course. No grey matter increase was found in the same regions. Why does this make the conclusion stronger?

A change after a course could be caused by other things that happen in eight weeks, or by having a second scan.
The controls also lived through eight weeks and had two scans, but their grey matter did not increase in these regions.
So time and scanning alone do not explain the change in the mindfulness group.

Answer: The control group rules out the passing of time and repeated scanning as causes, so the change is more likely to be due to the mindfulness course.

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Keep going

← Biological approach: Hassett et al. (monkey toy preferences)Cognitive approach: Andrade (doodling) →Take a Psychology AS test