Memory Key Newsletter

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T h e M e m o r y K e y
<http://www.memory-key.com>

Your resource for information about memory and memory improvement

November 2005

http://www.memory-key.com/newsletters/issue_70.htm

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THIS MONTH ON MEMORY-KEY.COM:

MEDITATION AND THE BRAIN

ACQUIRING EXPERTISE THROUGH DELIBERATE PRACTICE

HOLIDAY BREAK

BLOG

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Find out more about my e-book on "Remembering intentions" at:
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Find out about my new YA novel involving ancestral memory at:
http://www.fmmcpherson.com/

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MEDITATION AND THE BRAIN

A little while ago in my blog I mentioned an intriguing study into the neural activity of meditation students and experienced meditators (Tibetan Buddhist monks with 15 to 40 years of experience). The study showed noticeable differences in the neural activity of novice and experienced meditators, but also, and rather more interestingly, evidence that suggests long-term changes in the brains of such long-term meditators.

Recently, these findings have been supported by a fascinating study demonstrating that meditating actually increases the thickness of the cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula. The difference between meditators and non-meditators was most pronounced among older participants (40+), suggesting that meditation can compensate for the cortical thinning that occurs with age (you can see a graph of the results at http://lazar-meditation-research.info/index.html ).

The meditators in the study were practitioners of Buddhist Insight meditation, a common type of meditation which focuses on "mindfulness", a specific nonjudgmental awareness of sensations, feelings and state of mind. They averaged nine years of mediation experience and practiced about six hours per week (around 40 minutes a day). How far the findings apply to other meditational practices is of course unknown, and the findings do need to be replicated on a larger scale. Nevertheless, the study does provide support for long-standing anecdotal evidence that meditation improves attention and concentration. Given that these qualities are precisely those at most risk with age, I would suggest that older people concerned about failing cognitive prowess give serious consideration to this activity.

What of other activities with meditational qualities? Yoga and tai chi are two commonly suggested activities for improving quality of life.

Last year, a study found that yoga was as good as a traditional aerobic exercise program in improving measures of fatigue in multiple sclerosis sufferers. A parallel study found no change in cognitive function among healthy seniors in a six-month yoga program or exercise class, but physical health and quality of life appeared to be enhanced.

Another small study found that lymphoma patients who practiced Tibetan yoga for seven weeks went to sleep faster, slept longer, had better overall sleep quality, and used less sleep medication. Although there was no apparent effect in other "quality of life" measures, such as anxiety, depression and fatigue, the researchers suggested this was most likely due to the study's brief time frame.

Tai chi has a long tradition in China of being of particular benefit to elders. A review of 47 studies investigating the effects of tai chi in patients with various chronic health conditions concluded that long-term tai chi practice had favorable effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness and reduced the risk of falls in elders.

Like meditation, yoga and tai chi come in many styles, and some may be of greater benefit than others. Nevertheless, research has consistently shown that both methods can positively influence flexibility, hypertension, ventilation, and, for tai chi, cardiovascular performance.

Although most cardiorespiratory benefits have been seen in elderly and sedentary people, researchers have suggested that these benefits can also be achieved in younger people, if training is long term and progressively more intense.

Like meditation, yoga and tai chi have also been shown to improve mood states and lower stress. All these factors — improving mood, reducing stress, reducing fatigue — are known to impact cognitive function. Although cognitive benefits have not been clearly demonstrated, the evidence that “what’s good for the heart is good for the brain” also supports the view that these activities should have an effect on cognitive function. It may well be, as suggested, that the short length of most studies have precluded a demonstrable impact on cognitive function. It should also be noted that the emphasis to date has been on physical benefit, and few studies have looked directly at cognitive function.

While I believe all three activities are of potential cognitive benefit to those whose mental abilities are diminished either for reason of health or age, let me put in a particular plug for my own personal favorite: tai chi. Those who are aging and concerned that their memory and learning abilities are declining are always advised to look at their diet and to incorporate exercise into their day. Tai chi is a good way for those unused to exercise to ease into such activities. Taking up meditation, too, may seem very difficult if you are unused to such activities, and my own opinion is that tai chi — which integrates breathing and meditation with physical movement — is also a good way of becoming accustomed to meditation.

References:

Cohen, L., Warneke, C., Fouladi, R.T., Rodriguez, M.A. & Chaoul-Reich, A. 2004. Psychological adjustment and sleep quality in a randomized trial of the effects of a Tibetan yoga intervention in patients with lymphoma. Cancer, 100 (10), 2253-2260.

Ives, J.C. & Sosnoff, J. 2000. Beyond the Mind-Body Exercise Hype. The Physician And Sportsmedicine, 28 (3).

Lazar, S.W. et al. 2005. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. NeuroReport, 16, 1893-1897.

Lutz, A., Greischar, L.L., Rawlings, N.B., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R.J. 2004. Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101, 16369-16373.

Oken, B.S et al. 2004. Randomized controlled trial of yoga and exercise in multiple sclerosis. Neurology, 62, 2058-2064.

Oken, B.S et al. 2004. Randomized controlled trial of exercise and yoga in healthy seniors. Neurology, 62 (suppl 5), A130.

Wang, C., Collet, J.P. & Lau, J. 2004. The Effect of Tai Chi on Health Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review. Archives of Internal Medicine,164, 493-501.

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ACQUIRING EXPERTISE THROUGH DELIBERATE PRACTICE

An exchange of emails on the question of expertise recently led me back to the work of Ericsson and others. Ericsson makes a very convincing case for the absolutely critical importance of what he terms “deliberate practice”, and the minimal role of what is commonly termed “talent”. I have written about this question of talent ( http://www.memory-key.com/Parents/innate_talent.htm ) and also about the principles of expertise
( http://www.memory-key.com/StudySkills/expertise.htm ). Here I would like to talk briefly about Ericsson’s concept of deliberate practice.

Most people, he suggests, spend very little (if any) time engaging in deliberate practice even in those areas in which they wish to achieve some level of expertise. Experts, on the other hand, only achieve their expertise after several years (at least ten, in general) of maintaining high levels of regular deliberate practice.

What distinguishes deliberate practice from less productive practice? Ericsson suggests several factors are of importance:

* The acquisition of expert performance needs to be broken down into a sequence of attainable training tasks.
* Each of these tasks requires a well-defined goal.
* Feedback for each step must be provided.
* Repetition is needed — but that repetition is not simple; rather the student should be provided with opportunities that gradually refine his performance.
* Attention is absolutely necessary — it is not enough to simply mechanically “go through the motions”.
* The aspiring expert must constantly and attentively monitor her progress, adjusting and correcting her performance as required.

For these last two reasons, deliberate practice is limited in duration. Whatever the particular field of endeavour, there seems a remarkable consistency in the habits of elite performers that suggests 4 to 5 hours of deliberate practice per day is the maximum that can be maintained. This, of course, cannot all be done at one time without resting. When the concentration flags, it is time to rest — this most probably is after about an hour. But the student must train himself up to this level; the length of time he can concentrate will increase with practice.

Higher levels of concentration are often associated with longer sleeping, in particular in the form of day-time naps.
Not all practice is, or should be, deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is effortful and rarely enjoyable. Some practice is however, what Ericsson terms “playful interaction”, and presumably provides a motivational force — it should not be despised!

In general, experts reduce the amount of time they spend on deliberate practice as they age. It seems that, once a certain level of expertise has been achieved, it is not necessary to force yourself to continue the practice at the same level in order to maintain your skill. However, as long as you wish to improve, a high level of deliberate practice is required.

Reference:
Ericsson, K.A. 1996. The acquisition of expert performance:An introduction to some of the issues. In K. Anders Ericsson (ed.), The Road to Excellence: The acquisition of expert performance in the arts and sciences, sports, and games. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
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HOLIDAY BREAK

There will be no December issue of the Memory Key Newsletter in early January. The Memory News Digest will, however, appear on schedule. Happy holidays!

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BLOG
www.memory-key.com/blogger.html

Latest posts:

* differences between male and female brains
* reduced activity of mirror neurons in autistic children
* parietal cortex involved in generating body image
* imaging study of hypnosis, showing the actual changes in the brain induced
* early experience reducing levels of "attachment" hormones may permanently damage ability to form close relationships.
* the education of very gifted children

* Behavioral and neurological effects of meditation
* gender and personality differences in brain activity in response to humor
* sleep in other animals, and the possible evolutionary purposes of sleep,
* More about the habit study
* "dyslexia gene".

Note that the blog is indexed chronologically at
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You can also access my blog with an RSS feed. The URL is
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