63297 20180309150124.0 doi 10.1371/journal.pone.0058476 sideral 81307 ART-2013-81307 eng Fayed, N. Brain Changes in Long-Term Zen Meditators Using Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Diffusion Tensor Imaging: A Controlled Study 2013 Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted Introduction: This work aimed to determine whether 1H magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are correlated with years of meditation and psychological variables in long-term Zen meditators compared to healthy non-meditator controls. Materials and Methods: Design. Controlled, cross-sectional study. Sample. Meditators were recruited from a Zen Buddhist monastery. The control group was recruited from hospital staff. Meditators were administered questionnaires on anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment and mindfulness. 1H-MRS (1.5 T) of the brain was carried out by exploring four areas: both thalami, both hippocampi, the posterior superior parietal lobule (PSPL) and posterior cingulate gyrus. Predefined areas of the brain were measured for diffusivity (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) by MR-DTI. Results: Myo-inositol (mI) was increased in the posterior cingulate gyrus and Glutamate (Glu), N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) and N-acetyl-aspartate/Creatine (NAA/Cr) was reduced in the left thalamus in meditators. We found a significant positive correlation between mI in the posterior cingulate and years of meditation (r¿=¿0.518; p¿=¿.019). We also found significant negative correlations between Glu (r¿=¿-0.452; p¿=¿.045), NAA (r¿=¿-0.617; p¿=¿.003) and NAA/Cr (r¿=¿-0.448; P¿=¿.047) in the left thalamus and years of meditation. Meditators showed a lower Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) in the left posterior parietal white matter than did controls, and the ADC was negatively correlated with years of meditation (r¿=¿-0.4850, p¿=¿.0066). Conclusions: The results are consistent with the view that mI, Glu and NAA are the most important altered metabolites. This study provides evidence of subtle abnormalities in neuronal function in regions of the white matter in meditators. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ 3.534 2013 MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES 8 / 56 = 0.143 2013 Q1 T1 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion (orcid)0000-0002-1690-4130 Lopez del Hoyo, Y. Universidad de Zaragoza Andres, E. Serrano-Blanco, A. Bellón, J. Aguilar, K. Cebolla, A. (orcid)0000-0002-3797-4218 Garcia-Campayo, J. Universidad de Zaragoza 1007 745 Universidad de Zaragoza Departamento de Medicina, Psiquiatría y Dermatología Psiquiatría 4009 730 Universidad de Zaragoza Departamento de Psicología y Sociología Psicología Básica 8, 3 (2013), e58476 [14 pp] PLoS One PLoS One 1932-6203 561031 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/63297/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 118985 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/63297/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:63297 articulos driver 2018-03-09-14:57:05 ARTICLE