7 Days of Meditation Rewires 20 Adults' Brains, Mimicking Some Psychedelic Patterns
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Aug 10
7 Days of Meditation Rewires 20 Adults' Brains, Mimicking Some Psychedelic Patterns
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Aug 10
Summary
MRI scans of 20 healthy adults found a seven-day residential meditation retreat reduced activity in brain regions tied to internal mental chatter and altered connectivity after about 33 hours of guided practice.
Blood plasma taken after the retreat made lab-grown neurons grow longer branches and form more connections, while exposed cells also showed higher metabolism—evidence of increased neuroplasticity beyond simple relaxation.
Blood tests also showed both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals rising, suggesting a complex immune adaptation alongside changes in metabolism and molecular signalling.
Researchers said some of the neural connectivity and reported mystical-experience patterns overlapped with those seen in psilocybin studies, though they cautioned meditation and psychedelic drugs do not produce identical effects.
The study, published in Communications Biology, was small and short-term, and the team said controlled clinical trials are still needed to show whether these biological shifts translate into treatment benefits.