A small number (11) subjects given meditation training over five weeks increased activity in the left frontal region of the brain, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Stout have found. Other research has found that this pattern of brain activity is associated with positive moods.

At the beginning of the study, each participant had an EEG. They were told: “Relax with your eyes closed, and focus on the flow of your breath at the tip of your nose; if a random thought arises, acknowledge the thought and then simply let it go by gently bringing your attention back to the flow of your breath.”

Eleven people were then invited to take part in meditation training, while a control group of another 10 were told they would be trained later. The 11 were offered two half-hour sessions a week, and encouraged to practice as much as they could between sessions, but there wasn’t any particular requirement for how much they should practice.

After five weeks, the researchers did an EEG again on the 11 persons who did the meditation training. Each had done, on average, about seven hours of training and practice.

Ref.: Jane Anderson, et al., Frontal EEG Asymmetry Associated with Positive Emotion is Produced by Very Brief Meditation Training, Psychological Science, 2011; in press