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Abstract #3782

Cerebral blood flow changes associated with meditation practice time: a longitudinal study

Zongpai Zhang1, Wenna Duan1, Steffi Chettiar1, Swanand A Wagh1, Wen-Ming Luh2, George Weinschenk1, and Weiying Dai1

1State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, United States, 2Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States

Longitudinal cerebral blood flow (CBF) images were acquired in ten college students after 2-month meditation practice. The CBF difference before and after meditation practice and the association between CBF change and meditation practice time were analyzed on a voxel-by-voxel basis using SPM8. We found significant perfusion increase and decrease in the occipital and thalamus regions respectively. However, the CBF increase and decrease in the corresponding regions exhibited negative and positive association with practice time respectively. Regional analysis confirmed that the direction of CBF change may switch after some amount of meditation practice time, indicating a complex neural pathway of meditation.

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