Children actively meditating experience lower activity in parts of the brain involved in rumination, mind-wandering, and depression,
our team found in the first brain-imaging study of people younger than 18 years old. Over-activity in this collection of brain regions, known as the default mode network, is thought to be involved in the generation of negative self-directed thoughts—such as “I am such a failure”—that are prominent in mental disorders such as depression.
In our study, we compared a simple form of distraction—counting backward from 10—with two relatively simple forms of meditation: focused attention to the breath and mindful acceptance. Children in an MRI scanner had to use these techniques while watching distress-inducing video clips, such as a child receiving an injection.
This study, led by
medical student Aneesh Hehr, is important because meditation techniques such as focused attention on the breath or mindful acceptance
are popular in school settings and are increasingly used to help children cope with stressful experiences. These might include exposure to trauma, medical treatments, or even COVID-19-related stress.
Why It Matters
Researchers know a lot about what’s happening in the brain and body in
adults while they meditate, but comparable data for children has been lacking. Understanding what’s happening in children’s brains when they meditate is important because the developing brain is wired differently from the adult brain.
These findings are also important because caregivers and health care providers often use distraction methods such as iPads or toys to help children cope with
pain and distress, such as medical procedures. However, those techniques may largely rely on the prefrontal cortex,
which is underdeveloped in youth.
This means that stress and emotion regulation techniques that rely on the prefrontal cortex may work well for adults but are likely to be less accessible to children. Meditation techniques may not be dependent upon the prefrontal cortex and may therefore be more accessible and effective for helping children manage and cope with stress.
What’s Next
We still have a great deal to learn about how meditation affects brain development in children. This includes what types of meditation techniques are most effective, their ideal frequency and duration, and how they affect children differently.Our study focused on a relatively small sample of 12 children with active cancer, as well as survivors who may have experienced significant distress over the diagnosis, treatment, and uncertainty about the future. Future studies with larger sample sizes—including children with a wider diversity of diagnoses and exposures to early adversity or trauma—will help researchers to better understand how meditation affects the brains and bodies of children.
Our findings underscore the need to understand precisely how meditation techniques work. Exciting recent studies
have begun to examine how participating in mindfulness and meditation-based programs can shape brain functioning in children.
Understanding how these techniques work is also essential for optimizing how they could be applied in health care settings, such as coping with needle-related procedures or helping children manage the negative effects of stress and trauma.
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