September 10th, 2009 → 2:45 am @ andre // No Comments
There was an interesting study that was published in the Journal of Neurophysiology back in 1995. The study was one of the first of its kind. It explored the link between the mind and the reality. To determine the existence of such a link… and its strength, the researchers conducted an experiment on 4 groups of subjects:
According to brain scans, the fourth group, obviously, did not make any improvements. Neither did the second group, for that matter.
The first group, also obvious, developed large a neuronal network in the part of the brain traditionally involved in playing the piano. What’s surprising is that the third group – the group that merely imagined the pactice – developed a network similar to that of the first group.
It showed significant improvement in their ability to play the instrument.
This is a classic case of “Hebbian Learning” – neurons that fire together, wire together. Imagining doing something and physically doing something, fires the same network of neurons in your brain… and thus strengthens the same network of neurons. In other words, the brains of the subjects in the third group couldn’t tell the difference between what’s their imagination and what’s the reality.
Is this an isolated incident? Let’s take a look at another experiment.
Conducted by Drs Guang Ye and Kelly Cole, the experiment involved two groups of subjects doing finger exercises. The first group physically performed the exercises while the other imagined it. Again, they get the same results. The group that imagined strengthened their finger muscles by a whopping 22%.
How could your muscle develop without physical exercise? Hebbian Learning.
In fact, yet another study involving 3 groups of basketball players practicing shooting hoops resulted in the same results. The group that shot hoops for practice and the group that visualized it (imagined) both improved by an average of 23%. The group that spent their time relaxing did not see any improvement.
The power of Hebbian Learning is so strong that for every medical drug that is about to hit the market, scientists have to make sure that it’s not what curing the patients. They call it “the placebo effect”. The placebo effect kicks in when the brain thought you’re getting a cure for your disease… even when you didn’t receive it. According to the latest statistics, the placebo effect has been shown to be responsible for 30% of all cures. Your brain’s neurons have fired and strengthen its link so strongly that it was convinced your cancer (or whatever disease) is gone! (Makes you wonder whether it’s your brain that cured you or the drugs)
You can recreate the placebo effect just by meditating. Brain scans have shown that people who meditate literally shut down the parts of their brain involved in tracking time, space and even their own senses (This is why they often go to “that” place where there is no time, space and self).
By shutting down these senses, the brain can then focus on the imagination… and eventually rewire itself through the principle of Hebbian Learning. This is why meditation is crucial in maintaining your brain health.
But be careful: The Hebbian Learning principle is a double-edged sword because neurons that no longer fire together… no longer wire together, potentially causing memory loss and the lost of basic skills such as walking. This is why meditation is crucial if you want to keep your mental functions sharp even in old age.
For a long time, people have associated the mind and brain as two separate entities. One as physical and tangible – the brain – and the other as something mythical and out of of reach – the mind.
But the truth couldn’t be further. You mind is simply the experience you’re having as interpreted by your brain. Your every thought affects the brain in physical. For example, when you’re anticipating something pleasurable (thought), your brain releases a chemical called “dopamine” (physical), which makes you excited (experience). Thus what you think determines what you feel. By the same principle, when you’re stressed (thought), you release a chemical called cortisol (physical), which in turn makes you more alert (experience) in the short term (but cortisol kills brain cells in the long term).
To meditate, is really, to control your brain’s chemistry. All you have to do is sit in a comfortable chair and think of nothing but one thought. Or if you want – think of nothing (easier said than done).
Be warned: You’ll feel strange at first. You’ll feel like you can’t do it. You’ll feel like you’re wasting time. But know that you’re feeling that way because there are synapses (links) in your brain that dictates meditation are useless, impossible or even absurd. Once you’ve rewired yourself, once you’ve created new synapses, then you’ll enjoy a whole other experience.
