Meditation sharpens the mind

New research led by neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin suggests that intensive meditation training can significantly improve cognitive abilities and attention. Study participants who meditated 10 to 12 hours a day for three months reported improved detail processing, which may have potential in treating disorders like ADHD. Davidson emphasizes that meditation, as a form of mental training, can be an effective tool for improving brain function, opening up new therapeutic possibilities.

Meditation sharpens the mind?Three months of intensive training in a form of meditation, called "insight" in Sanskrit, sharpens the mind enough for the practitioner to notice details that might otherwise escape their attention.

New research findings add to a growing body of knowledge showing that age-old mental exercises can help control and improve the mind, possibly enabling the treatment of disorders such as ADHD.

Certain mental properties previously thought to be relatively stable can actually be altered by mental training. University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson said, "People know that physical exercise can improve the body, but our research, like that of other groups, offers hope that mental exercise can improve the mind." But paying attention to the facts is crucial: it takes time and effort, and since everyone has limited cognitive power, details can be missed. For example, when two images appear on a television screen half a second apart, the second one often goes unnoticed.

"Your attention gets focused on the first image, and then you miss the second one," says Davidson. This phenomenon is called an attentional blink , and it's similar to missing something when you blink.

The fact that people can sometimes see the second image, however, suggests that attention can be sharpened with training – as new research on meditation has just shown.