Researchers from some of the country's most prestigious medical centers have found in their studies that meditation can impact the thickness of the cortical tissue in the brain. This type of change is significant in the way the tissue is then able to process sensory, cognitive, and emotional responses.

The group of researchers from Harvard, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital studied 20 people each one with significant commonality. They were all extensively trained in the Buddhist Insight meditation practices. This generally meant that the subjects spent about 40 minutes each day in deep meditation. This was enough to affect grey matter in the brain and increase cortical thickness.

Using an MRI the researchers were able to monitor the changes brought about through regular meditation. Not only were cognitive regions of the brain impacted, but the MRI showed that the normal thinning of the frontal cortex associated with aging was much slower. Also, the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for attention is what