Functions of the occipital lobe of the brain. Brain: structure and functions

Medulla may be confused with the functions of the spinal cord! In the kernels gray matter(accumulation of dendrites) are located defense reflex centers- blinking and vomiting, coughing, sneezing, and also the medulla oblongata allows you to inhale and exhale, secrete saliva (automatically, we cannot control this reflex), swallow, secrete gastric juice- also automatic. The medulla oblongata performs reflex and conductive functions.

Bridge responsible for movement eyeballs and facial expressions.

Cerebellum responsible for coordinating movement.

Midbrain responsible for clarity of vision and hearing. It regulates the size of the pupil and the curvature of the lens. Regulates muscle tone. It contains the centers of the orienting reflex

Forebrain- the largest section of the brain, which is divided into two halves.

1) Diencephalon, which is divided into three parts:

a) Upper

b) Lower (aka hypotholamus) - regulates metabolism and energy, that is: fasting - saturation, thirst - quenching.

c) Central (thalamus) - here the first processing of information from the senses occurs.

2) Large hemispheres brain

a) Left hemisphere - for right-handed people, speech centers are located here, and the left hemisphere is responsible for the movement of the right leg, right hand etc

b) Right hemisphere - in right-handed people, the whole situation is perceived here (at what distance is the fence, what volume is it, etc.), and is also responsible for the movement of the left leg, left hand, etc.

Occipital lobe- location of visual areas formed by neurons.

Temporal lobe- location of auditory zones.

Parietal lobe- responsible for musculocutaneous sensitivity.

The inner surface of the temporal lobes is the olfactory and gustatory zones.

Frontal lobes front part - active behavior.

In front of the central gyrus is the motor zone.

Autonomic nervous system. According to its structure and properties autonomic nervous system (ANS) is different from somatic(SNS) with the following features:

1. ANS centers are located in different parts of the central nervous system: in the middle and medulla oblongata of the brain, sternolumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord. Nerve fibers extending from the nuclei of the midbrain and medulla oblongata and from the sacral segments of the spinal cord form parasympathetic division of the ANS. Fibers emerging from the nuclei of the lateral horns of the sternolumbar segments of the spinal cord form sympathetic division of the ANS.

2. Nerve fibers, leaving the central nervous system, do not reach the innervated organ, but are interrupted and come into contact with the dendrite of another nerve cell, the nerve fiber of which already reaches the innervated organ. In places of contact of accumulation of bodies nerve cells form nodes, or ganglia, of the ANS. Thus, the peripheral part of the motor sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve pathways is built from two neurons sequentially following each other (Fig. 13.3). The body of the first neuron is located in the central nervous system, the body of the second is in the autonomic nerve node (ganglion). The nerve fibers of the first neuron are called preganglionic, second -postganglionic

.

Fig.3. Reflex arc diagram of somatic (a) and autonomic (6) reflexes: 1 - receptor; 2 - sensory nerve; 3 - central nervous system; 4 - motor nerve; 5 -working body -muscle, gland; TO - contact (intercalary) neuron; G - autonomic ganglion; 6.7 - pre- and postganglionic nerve fiber.

3. The ganglia of the sympathetic division of the ANS are located on both sides of the spine, forming two symmetrical chains of nerve nodes connected to each other. The ganglia of the parasympathetic division of the ANS are located in the walls of the innervated organs or near them. Therefore, in the parasympathetic section of the ANS, post-ganglionic fibers, unlike sympathetic ones, are short.

4. Nerve fibers of the ANS are 2-5 times thinner than the fibers of the SNS. Their diameter is 0.002-0.007 mm, therefore the speed of excitation through them is lower than through SNS fibers, and reaches only 0.5-18 m/s (for SNS fibers - 30-120 m/s). Majority internal organs has double innervation, i.e. each of them is suitable nerve fibers both the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the ANS. They have the opposite effect on the functioning of organs. Thus, excitation of the sympathetic nerves increases the rhythm of contractions of the heart muscle, narrows the lumen blood vessels. The opposite effect is associated with excitation of the parasympathetic nerves. The meaning of the double innervation of internal organs lies in the involuntary contractions of the smooth muscles of the walls. In this case, reliable regulation of their activity can only be ensured by double innervation, which has the opposite effect.

Last update: 09/30/2013

The human brain still remains a mystery to scientists. He is not only one of the most important organs human body, but also the most complex and poorly understood. Learn more about the most mysterious organ of the human body by reading this article.

"Brain Introduction" - Cerebral Cortex

In this article, you will learn about the basic components of the brain and how the brain works. This is not at all some kind of in-depth review of all the research into the characteristics of the brain, because such information would fill entire stacks of books. The main purpose of this review is to familiarize you with the main components of the brain and the functions they perform.

The cerebral cortex is the component that makes a human being unique. For all traits unique to man, including more perfect mental development, speech, consciousness, as well as the ability to think, reason and imagine, the cerebral cortex is responsible, since all these processes occur in it.

The cerebral cortex is what we see when we look at the brain. This is the outer part of the brain and can be divided into four lobes. Each bulge on the surface of the brain is known as gyrus, and each notch is like furrow.

The cerebral cortex can be divided into four sections, which are known as lobes (see image above). Each of the lobes, namely the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal, is responsible for certain functions, ranging from reasoning ability to auditory perception.

• Frontal lobe located in the front of the brain and is responsible for reasoning, motor skills, cognitive abilities and speech. At the back of the frontal lobe, next to the central sulcus, lies the motor cortex of the brain. This area receives impulses from different lobes of the brain and uses this information to move parts of the body. Damage to the frontal lobe of the brain can lead to sexual dysfunction, problems with social adaptation, decreased concentration, or contribute to an increase in the risk of such consequences.
• Parietal lobe located in the middle part of the brain and is responsible for processing tactile and sensory impulses. This includes pressure, touch and pain. The part of the brain known as the somatosensory cortex is located in this lobe and has great importance to perceive sensations. Damage to the parietal lobe can lead to problems with verbal memory, impaired gaze control, and problems with speech.
• Temporal lobe located in the lower part of the brain. This lobe also contains the primary auditory cortex, which is necessary for interpreting the sounds and speech we hear. The hippocampus is also located in temporal lobe- that's why this part of the brain is associated with memory formation. Damage to the temporal lobe can lead to problems with memory, language skills, and speech perception.
• Occipital lobe located in the back of the brain and is responsible for interpreting visual information. The primary visual cortex, which receives and processes information from the retina, is located in the occipital lobe. Damage to this lobe can cause vision problems, such as difficulty recognizing objects, text, and the inability to distinguish colors.

The brainstem consists of the so-called hindbrain and midbrain. The hindbrain, in turn, consists of the medulla oblongata, the pons and the reticular formation.

hindbrain

The hindbrain is the structure that connects the spinal cord to the brain.

• The medulla oblongata is located directly above the spinal cord and controls many vital important functions autonomic nervous system, including heart rate, respiration and blood pressure.
• The pons connects the medulla oblongata to the cerebellum and helps in coordinating the movements of all parts of the body.
• The reticular formation is a neural network located in the medulla oblongata that helps control functions such as sleep and attention.

The midbrain is the smallest region of the brain, which acts as a relay station of sorts for auditory and visual information.

The midbrain controls many important functions, including the visual and auditory systems, and eye movement. Parts of the midbrain called " red core" And " black matter", participate in the control of body movement. The substantia nigra contains a large number of dopamine-producing neurons located in it. Degeneration of neurons in the substantia nigra can lead to Parkinson's disease.

Cerebellum, also sometimes called " small brain", lies on the upper part of the pons, behind the brain stem. The cerebellum consists of small lobes and receives impulses from vestibular apparatus, afferent (sensory) nerves, auditory and visual systems. It is involved in movement coordination and is also responsible for memory and learning ability.

Located above the brain stem, the thalamus processes and transmits motor and sensory impulses. Essentially, the thalamus is a relay station that receives sensory impulses and transmits them to the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex, in turn, also sends impulses to the thalamus, which then sends them to other systems.

The hypothalamus is a group of nuclei located along the base of the brain near the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus connects to many other areas of the brain and is responsible for controlling hunger, thirst, emotions, body temperature regulation, and circadian rhythms. The hypothalamus also controls the pituitary gland through secretions that allow the hypothalamus to control many body functions.

The limbic system consists of four main elements, namely: tonsils, hippocampus, plots limbic cortex And septal region of the brain. These elements form connections between the limbic system and the hypothalamus, thalamus and cerebral cortex. Hippocampus plays important role for memory and learning, while the limbic system itself is central to the control of emotional reactions.

The basal ganglia are a group of large nuclei that partially surround the thalamus. These nuclei play an important role in the control of movement. The red nucleus and substantia nigra of the midbrain are also connected to the basal ganglia.

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Once upon a time, in order to understand how the brain works, scientists needed to open the skull. Today, fortunately, there are other ways through which you can closely monitor the functioning of the brain without subjecting the subject to such a severe operation.

Electrical activity

Electrical impulses passing through the brain can be measured using a special device - an electroencephalograph. And this is despite the fact that the amplitude of these signals (which are also called cerebral waves*) is very small. They are detected using sensors that are attached to the surface of the skull. After this, the signals pass through an amplifier and go to a device that records them. Thanks to this technology, it was discovered that the electrical activity of the brain does not subside even when it is resting, but the amplitude and frequency of these waves depend on the degree of its activity. Thus, the waves are divided into four types - those that occur in a state of rest (alpha waves), those that arise in an actively working brain (beta waves), those that occur during sleep (delta waves), and waves that occur under stress (theta waves).

Monitoring the rush of blood

The main disadvantage of electroencephalography is that it is impossible to know exactly in which part of the brain electrical activity occurs. But to do this, scientists have learned to create electronic images of the brain, which indicate the level of activity. We are not talking about directly measuring the activity of neurons, but about measuring the activity of blood flow in certain areas of the brain.

Indeed, working neurons require increased amount oxygen for nutrition. Oxygen is carried by blood. Blood vessels located in the active area dilate to carry more blood. As a result, the more actively a particular zone works, the greater the blood flow in it.

An electroencephalogram measures brain activity
More than 50 hormones involved in the functioning of the body have been identified.

Observations using a magnetic field

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) measures the concentration of hemoglobin in the blood, the molecules of which carry oxygen in the blood. Having delivered oxygen to neurons, this molecule changes somewhat. It is these changes that can be determined using magnetic field. And the computer is able to analyze them and calculate which areas of the brain consume more oxygen, that is, which of them are the most active. Thus, MRI allows you to get a very accurate picture of which parts of the brain are active, without requiring any drugs to be injected into the blood.

Observations using radiation

The principle of PET (positron emission tomography) is based on the fact that a weakly radioactive agent is injected into the patient’s blood, which can be monitored using special sensors. The injected substance emits particles - positrons, which can be exclusively clearly identified. And if in some area their number increases significantly, this means that the concentration of the radioactive substance there is increased. And if it is elevated, this, in turn, means that more blood is circulating in that area of ​​the brain. Thus, it becomes possible to identify the most actively working areas of the brain with an accuracy of several millimeters and simulate its three-dimensional image in real time. However, watch the brain long time this method does not allow. The injected radioactive substance has a very short period life is only a few minutes, after which it disintegrates.

Active Wernicke's center, which allows you to speak and understand what is said

MRI allows you to observe active areas of the brain

Unraveling the secret of autism

For a long time, autism was considered solely a psychological illness. Pediatricians and psychologists thought that it was the result of a difficult relationship between mother and child. But new technologies for visualizing brain function have proven that the disease is based on biological causes - some areas of the autistic brain work differently than those of an ordinary child. For example, a zone that allows voice recognition different people, does not work for them, which is why autistic people have difficulty communicating with others.

Brain activity can be measured with millimeter precision.

The brain, of course, is the main part of the human central nervous system.

Scientists estimate that it is only 8% used.

That's why hidden possibilities it is limitless and unexplored. Also, no relationship was found between human talents and capabilities. The structure and functions of the brain imply control over all vital functions of the body.

The location of the parts of the brain under the protection of the strong bones of the skull provides normal functioning body.

Structure

The human brain is reliably protected by strong bones of the skull, and occupies almost the entire space of the cranium. Anatomists conventionally distinguish the following departments brain: two hemispheres, brainstem and cerebellum.

Another division is also accepted. The parts of the brain are the temporal, frontal lobes, as well as the crown and back of the head.

Its structure is made up of more than one hundred billion neurons. Its normal weight varies greatly, but reaches 1800 grams; in women the average is slightly lower.

The brain consists of gray matter. The cortex consists of the same gray matter formed by almost the entire mass of nerve cells that belong to this organ.

Hidden underneath white matter, consisting of processes of neurons that are conductors, they transmit nerve impulses from the body to the subcortex for analysis, as well as commands from the cortex to parts of the body.

The control areas of the brain are located in the cortex, but they are also found in the white matter. The deep centers are called nuclear.

The structure of the brain is a hollow region in its depth, consisting of 4 ventricles, separated by ducts, where a fluid that performs protective functions circulates. On the outside, it is protected by three shells.

Functions

The human brain is the manager of the entire life of the body, from the smallest movements to high function thinking.

The brain regions and their functions include processing signals received from receptor mechanisms. Many scientists believe that its functions also include responsibility for emotions, feelings, and memory.

Useful to know: Midbrain: structure, functions, development

The basic functions of the brain, as well as the specific responsibilities of its areas, should be considered in detail.

Movement

All physical activity The body is controlled by the central gyrus, which runs along the anterior part of the parietal lobe. The centers located in the occipital region are responsible for coordination of movements and the ability to maintain balance.

In addition to the back of the head, such centers are located directly in the cerebellum; this organ is also responsible for muscle memory. Therefore, malfunctions in the cerebellum lead to disturbances in the functioning of the musculoskeletal system.

Sensitivity

All sensory functions are controlled by the central gyrus, which runs along the posterior part of the parietal lobe. The control center for the position of the body and its members is also located here.

Sense organs

The centers located in the temporal lobes are responsible for auditory sensations. Visual sensations for a person are provided by centers located in the back of the head. Their work is clearly shown by the vision test table.

The interweaving of convolutions at the junction of the temporal and frontal lobes hides the centers responsible for olfactory, gustatory, and tactile sensations.

Speech function

This functionality is usually divided into the ability to produce speech and the ability to understand speech.

The first function is called motor, and the second sensory. The areas responsible for them are numerous and located in the convolutions of the right and left hemispheres.

Reflex function

The so-called oblongata includes areas responsible for vital processes not controlled by consciousness.

These include contractions of the heart muscle, breathing, constriction and dilation of blood vessels, protective reflexes such as lacrimation, sneezing, gagging, and control of the condition of the smooth muscles of internal organs.

Shell functions

The brain has three membranes.

The structure of the brain is such that, in addition to protection, each of the membranes performs certain functions.

The soft shell is designed to ensure normal blood supply and a constant flow of oxygen for its uninterrupted functioning. Also, the smallest blood vessels belonging to the soft membrane produce cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles.

Useful to know: Child brain development and its features

The arachnoid membrane is the area where cerebrospinal fluid circulates and performs the work that lymph does in the rest of the body. That is, it provides protection against penetration into the central nervous system pathological agents.

The dura mater is adjacent to the bones of the skull, together with them it ensures the stability of the gray and white brain matter, protects it from shocks, shifts during mechanical influences on the head. Also dura shell separates its departments.

Departments

What does the brain consist of?

The structures and main functions of the brain are carried out by it in different parts. From an anatomical point of view, the organ is made up of five sections, which were formed during the process of ontogenesis.

Different parts of the brain control and are responsible for the work individual systems and human organs. The brain is the main organ human body, its specific departments are responsible for the functioning of the human body as a whole.

Oblong

This part of the brain is a natural part of the spinal cord. It was formed in the process of ontogenesis, the first of all, and it is here that the centers responsible for unconditioned reflex functions, as well as breathing, blood circulation, metabolism, and other processes not controlled by consciousness are located.

hindbrain

What is the hindbrain responsible for?

The cerebellum, which is a scaled-down model of the organ, is located in this area. It is the hindbrain that is responsible for coordination of movements and the ability to maintain balance.

And it is the hindbrain that is the area where nerve impulses coming from the limbs and other parts of the body and back are transmitted through the neurons of the cerebellum, that is, all motor activity of a person is controlled.

Average

This part of the brain is not fully understood. The midbrain, its structure and functions are not fully understood. It is known that centers responsible for peripheral vision, reaction to sudden noises. It is also known that parts of the brain responsible for normal work organs of perception.

Intermediate

A section called the thalamus is located here. All nerve impulses sent by different parts of the body to the centers located in the hemispheres pass through it. The role of the thalamus is to control the body’s adaptation, provide a response to external stimuli, and maintain normal sensory perception.

Useful to know: How to improve blood circulation in the brain: recommendations, medications, exercises and folk remedies

The intermediate section contains the hypothalamus. This part of the brain stabilizes the functioning of the peripheral nervous system and also controls the functioning of all internal organs. This is where the body switches on and off.

It is the hypothalamus that regulates body temperature, the tone of blood vessels, contraction of the smooth muscles of internal organs (peristalsis), and also creates a feeling of hunger and satiety. The hypothalamus controls the functioning of the pituitary gland. That is, it is responsible for the functioning endocrine system, controls the synthesis of hormones.

Finite

The telencephalon is one of the youngest parts of the brain. The corpus callosum provides communication between the right and left hemispheres. In the process of ontogenesis, it was formed last of all components, it makes up the main part of the organ.

Parts of the telencephalon carry out all higher nervous activity. The overwhelming number of convolutions are located here, it is closely connected with the subcortex, through it the entire life of the body is controlled.

The brain, its structure and functions remain largely unclear to scientists.

Many scientists are studying it, but they are still far from solving all the mysteries. The peculiarity of this organ is that its right hemisphere controls the work of the left side of the body, and is also responsible for general processes in the body, and left hemisphere coordinates right side body, and is responsible for talents, abilities, thinking, emotions, memory.

Practitioners of meditation for centuries claim that the practice has completely changed their lives, their perception of reality, and even their ideas about the nature of their “I”. Researcher Michael Baime in an article for a Buddhist magazine Shambhala Sun talks about how modern neuroscience helps us look at these statements from a new angle, and how this knowledge can enrich our practice and our lives in general.

Translation © Mindfulness Practice

Meditation practitioners seek truth through careful exploration of their inner, subjective experience—some call this “first-person inquiry.” Science looks at the external material world and relies on "third party" research and objective methodology - as a result, discoveries made in this way can be verified and repeated by any other scientist. It would seem that there are no more different approaches than those taken by these two traditions in the search for truth - and yet it should not be surprising that as a result both traditions discover that there is one truth.

Scientists have traditionally viewed the claims of meditation practitioners with a healthy skepticism, and meditation practitioners have responded with equal skepticism toward scientists' demands to provide objective evidence that meditation is beneficial. And yet recently (2011 - approx. lane) there was a real explosion of interest in the biology and neuroscience of meditation - both among ordinary people and among representatives of science.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded funding to several research projects, dedicated to the effects of meditation on humans. Other studies examine the effects of mindfulness and meditation techniques in general on a person's health and the body's ability to heal itself. Neuroscientists have found that thousands of meditators, from novice city dwellers to monks in Tibetan monasteries, show changes in brain activity compared to non-meditators.

Of course, you can succeed in practice without understanding what is happening in your brain at this moment, and certainly without beautiful MRI scans. On the other side, modern science invites us to look at our practice - and our lives in general - from a new angle, and this can be not only extremely interesting, but also quite important.

So, is it possible with the help of modern scientific methods discover what meditators have been saying for centuries - that a meditating person becomes calmer, that his stress level decreases, that he begins to manage his attention better? And is it possible to detect real neuronal changes corresponding to these changes in the subjective experience of the practitioner?

Over the past few decades, we have gained a wealth of evidence that the human body and mind are inextricably linked. It turned out that we can literally change ourselves and our perception of the world through meditation. By learning to focus our attention differently in the practice of concentration and the practice of open presence, we can directly influence the functioning of the different systems in our brain that control our attention. Scientists have even been able to figure out the biological reasons why meditative traditions claim that the human “I” is nothing more than an illusion.

Changes in different parts of the brain

One of the most interesting directions scientific research involves studying how the practice of meditation can physically change the structure of the brain. Several neuroscientists have shown in their work that some areas of the brain in those who regularly practice meditation are physically different from the same areas of the brain in non-practitioners. Moreover, these changes occur within the first eight weeks of regular practice.

These discoveries have greatly changed our understanding of the adult brain. Until recently, we believed that approximately twenty-five to thirty years human brain stops its growth and development. It was believed that starting from this age the brain begins to gradually degrade, and over the years this process only intensifies. However, in light of recent research, this sad ending is not inevitable.

The practice of meditation physically changes the structure of areas of the brain associated with attention, learning, and emotional regulation. It's like going to Gym. When you regularly challenge your physical muscles, they become bigger and stronger. Their structure is changing. In fact, almost any part of our body changes when we use it more than usual.

And now it turns out that the same is true for our brains. For example, we know that when you learn to juggle, the area of ​​your brain associated with the ability to track the movement of objects in space increases. The same thing happens during meditation. And although we are still far from fully understanding the mechanisms of what is happening - as is often the case with cutting-edge scientific research - more and more scientists are paying close attention to this issue.

The first to discover changes in the brain structure of meditators was Harvard neuroscientist Sarah Lazar ( Sara Lazar), conducting research at the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. She used MRI to take extremely detailed images of the brains of twenty Boston meditators and compared them with images of the brains of a control group of twenty people who had never meditated in their lives.

The meditating participants in the study were ordinary people - they practiced regularly, but were not monks and did not attend long retreats. On average, each of them had practiced continuously for the past nine years, for about an hour every day. All were Americans, white and worked in ordinary jobs - managers, civil servants.

Members of the control group were also residents of Boston and the surrounding area and were matched to study participants on baseline characteristics such as gender, age, race, and employment status. The main condition was that they should not have any experience in yoga or meditation.

Lazar drew attention to the cerebral cortex, which is an evolutionarily later part of the brain. The first discovery was that meditation practitioners did not experience the degradation of the cerebral cortex that typically occurs as people age. Meditation practitioners had just as thick cortex as nonpractitioners in the control group, who were twenty years younger.

Previous work showed that these areas were more active during meditation practice. Meditation practitioners also showed greater activity in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that lies just behind our frontal bone. In addition, Lazar identified another area of ​​the brain in which differences were observed - the insula of Reille.

On the one hand, it is impossible to say that any specific mental function is directly related to any specific area of ​​the brain (and although such attempts are made constantly, the attitude towards them in scientific circles is extremely ambiguous). However, it is safe to say that the areas Lazar identified in the prefrontal cortex are associated with a number of critical mental functions.

The cerebral cortex is thicker in meditation practitioners. Photos: Sarah Lazar

It is the prefrontal cortex that controls higher cognitive functions (sometimes called “executive”)—the ability to plan, make decisions, make judgments, and choose socially appropriate behavior. It is responsible for our ability to simultaneously hold several concepts or experiences in our minds and thereby analyze, evaluate and compare our plans, ideas and memories.

The prefrontal cortex also helps us connect memories with sensory signals coming to the brain from the senses in the moment, and through this we can connect our past experiences with what we are experiencing in the present moment.

Another important area of ​​the brain where changes occur is the insula of Reille. It is responsible for the integration of sensations and emotions, and is also associated with our ability to show empathy and feel love. The insula of Reille also plays a key role in our ability to be self-aware. Although there is no area of ​​the brain that is not important, it is the prefrontal cortex and the insula that are responsible for how well we function in the world.

Lazar views his research as preliminary because it strongly contradicts many established ideas about how the brain works, and because the experiments involved only twenty meditators. The scientist says that there is also no unanimity among her colleagues - some express obvious enthusiasm, while others are extremely skeptical.

However, the data obtained by Lazar were confirmed by other studies conducted by German scientist Britta Hölzel ( Britta Hö lzel). She also discovered areas hidden deep in the brain that have a thicker layer of gray matter in meditation practitioners. Gray matter consists of a huge number of neurons, which are the main cells of the brain. An increase in gray matter thickness may indicate that there are more connections than usual between neurons in a given area.

Hölzel herself has been practicing meditation for a long time, and at the moment ( 2011 G. - Prim. lane.) works jointly with Lazar in Boston. Together, they identified several more areas of the brain that differ in their structure among those who meditate - these areas are associated with the same changes in psychological state and behaviors that practitioners have reported on for thousands of years.

Activity in one of these zones allows us to change our point of view on what is happening, and it is thanks to this that we are able to show empathy (that is, essentially, understand the point of view and feelings of other people), as well as manage our emotional outbursts (and not behave too impulsive). And these are exactly the changes that people who practice mindfulness notice in themselves.

In almost all meditative traditions great attention focuses on training our ability to move from autopilot mode (where we are unaware of what we are doing and feeling at any given time), into a mode of attentive and relaxed alertness, where we become conscious witnesses of our reactions, emotions and thoughts. Practitioners learn to notice again and again that they have fallen back into sleepy unawareness and to awaken to the brightness of the present moment.

Lazar and Hoelzel also recently published data showing the amount of gray matter in another area of ​​the brain associated with emotional response, - amygdala - on the contrary, decreases. Activity in the amygdala has been linked to our ability to feel fear and anxiety, and the area is less active in meditators. The most surprising finding is that both of these types of changes in brain structure were found after just 8 weeks of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program.

Hölzel says this neurobiological research has been extremely useful for her own meditation practice. “It helped me improve my practice because I became more aware of what was actually happening when I meditated,” says Hoelzel. “It also helped me develop tolerance and acceptance.” You may think that quieting your mind will be very simple, but I know that the nervous system takes time to change - "mind wandering" is literally built into the system. All this knowledge allows me to realize that these processes are natural. It's not my fault or problem. It's just the way the brain works and the way the nervous system works."

This information has proven to be very useful for practitioners. “What surprised me most about this study was how many experienced meditation practitioners and teachers report that the data motivates them to continue their practice during times when meditation doesn’t seem to be working,” Lazar says. - Practitioners often say: “I used to think that I was wasting my time because my mind was a complete mess. But now I continue to sit on the meditation cushion because I remember how important these changes are.”

Increased attention

Another focus of recent research into the effects of meditation has been the role of meditation in how well you manage your attention. Whether you focus on the breath, sound, or thoughts (such as a repeated phrase or visual image) during meditation, the main goal of meditation is to control attention. This may seem ironic, but nothing illustrates how difficult it can be for us to control our attention like a long meditation session.

An endless number of distractions appear seemingly out of nowhere and take over our consciousness, despite our best aspirations. Especially if you're new to meditation, you might think that the practice actually makes you more distracted.

Meanwhile, research has shown that distractions actually happen less often because as you practice, you begin to see them better—your attention works better. You just notice a lot more, including your mind wandering and various distractions. Laboratory research show how the mind becomes stronger through practice - and strong positive changes are visible literally immediately, after a short period of time.

Amishi Jha is a true pioneer in this field of scientific research. She used sophisticated computer testing to assess how well meditators controlled their attention.

Neuroscientists Amish Jha, Britta Hoelzel and Sarah Lazar.

She administered this type of testing to groups of medical students at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before and after an eight-week mindfulness course. The goal of this course is to teach students how to better manage stress, facilitate communication, and develop empathy through meditation. (I was also involved in this research, including developing and teaching a meditation course.)

After eight weeks of the course, testing showed that those students who were trained in meditation were able to purposefully direct and focus their attention much faster than students who did not take the course. Another study used similar texts to examine the effects of an intensive group mindfulness retreat at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado over a period of 10 minutes. whole month. These participants had significantly more meditative experience than the students and practiced 8 to 10 hours daily during the retreat.

It is curious that the most experienced retreat participants did not become even better at directing and concentrating their attention compared to beginner meditation practitioners - they could do this perfectly well even before the retreat began. Instead, its participants showed changes in the very nature of their attention. It has become much more open and alert.

The results of these studies appear to describe a shift from focused attention to the deeper and more expansive state of open awareness and insight described in traditional meditation teachings. As expected, retreat participants experienced far less mind wandering than ordinary people, and they were more likely to notice and be aware that their mind was wandering at the moment.

Another study in Jha's lab found that meditation improved working (or short-term) memory as well as the ability to resist distractions. This has a very important to improve our ability to achieve our goals in Everyday life. Amishi Jha found that even a very short period of regular practice (as little as 12 minutes a day) was associated with significant improvements. short term memory. More practice leads to better results, including both better control of attention and fewer distractions.

How we create our “I”

Another recent series of studies looks at how the practice of mindfulness affects the process of creating our self from the diversity of our experiences: sensations, feelings, thoughts... Recent reports from the University of Toronto talk about how meditation affects the very way in which we create our self based on our current experience, and also show the connection between the narrative that unfolds in our heads and the direct experience of reality from moment to moment.

The creation of our “I” involves two neural networks in different parts of the brain. One network's activity is associated with narrative storytelling—thoughts about what happened and how we feel. Another network is associated with directly experiencing sensations and emotions in the present moment. Activity in the present moment network, or “direct experience circuit,” triggers the descriptive network, or “narrative circuit.” (More details about this - V article . - Prim. lane.)

Thus the transition from direct sensory perception to thinking is not a mere accident; it's literally built into our nervous system. And this explains why moments of non-conceptual mindfulness and open awareness are so fleeting. The answer is simple: the moment of directly immersing yourself in the present and stopping your thoughts immediately activates the “talkative” region of the brain.

Activity in the direct experience circuit (blue) triggers the narrative circuit (red). Practicing mindfulness weakens this connection. Image: Norman Farb.

During the study, participants were asked to use Various types focusing of attention corresponding to two different models of self-reference. The narrative circuit initiates the process of thinking complex thoughts in our minds, seemingly telling real story- and this weakens attention to those sensations that are available to us right now.

In contrast, the circuit of direct experience suppresses the process of creating mental constructs - and we open to all the experience available to us at the moment and observe “thoughts, feelings and physical sensations without giving preference to any one object.”

The narrative circuit is associated with chewing on thoughts about ourselves, while awareness of direct experience is free of this "chewing gum" - and this frees up the neural networks that are involved in creating stories about our separate self. The researchers noted that while the network associated with experiencing direct experience in the present moment allows one to focus on bodily sensations, meditation practice develops awareness of all available sensory stimuli from moment to moment.

Therefore, study participants were asked to keep the direct experience circuit active while paying attention to “internal thoughts, emotions, and external sensory objects in addition to bodily sensations.” The results of the mindfulness group were compared with those of the novices group. How did they engage these two neural circuits and two different parts of the brain, one associated with telling stories about oneself and the other with direct experience?

The Toronto group showed that meditation practice increases the ability to decouple these two compartments and actively engage the direct experience circuit. As a result, the likelihood that, after directly experiencing some experience, a self-centered internal monologue will inevitably turn on is significantly reduced. Even habitual patterns of behavior, literally built into our bodies, can change with practice. Norman Farb, the study's lead author, says the findings show how "mindfulness changes the very foundations, the very way we create our selves."

about the author

Mikael Bame- Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working at the Abramson Cancer Center ( Abramson Cancer Center) in Philadelphia. Founded the Pennsylvania Mindfulness Program ( Penn Program forMindifference) in 1992 and is engaged in a number of projects devoted to research into the effects of meditation practices.