I cannot speak to this study in particular, but it is worth noting that a recent meta-study found that the science supporting meditation isn't as strong as people tend to believe: http://www.tricycle.com/blog/meditation-nation
Meditation has been touted as a cure for practically everything, a reputation it cannot possibly live up to. This reputation is already creating a back lash -- this article is one example: http://www.salon.com/2014/12/06/mindfulness_truthiness_probl...
I think meditation has something genuine to offer, but it's going to take some time before there are enough quality scientific studies for a true picture about meditation to arise. And before that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if the pendulum of public opinion swung over to the other side.
For example, vulnerable individuals with a history of trauma may approach meditation thinking it will cure all their problems and then be surprised by intense memories of their trauma resurfacing, preventing them from going about their day-to-day life. Such people rightly feel that meditation has been incorrectly advertised.
They did comment on the issue in their discussion: "We examined whether age was an important factor in producing the baseline differences we observed by comparing the three youngest practitioners with the controls and found that the mean age difference between groups is unlikely the sole factor responsible for this baseline difference. Moreover, hours of practice but not age significantly predicted relative gamma activity during the initial baseline period."
[+] [-] con-templative|11 years ago|reply
Meditation has been touted as a cure for practically everything, a reputation it cannot possibly live up to. This reputation is already creating a back lash -- this article is one example: http://www.salon.com/2014/12/06/mindfulness_truthiness_probl...
I think meditation has something genuine to offer, but it's going to take some time before there are enough quality scientific studies for a true picture about meditation to arise. And before that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if the pendulum of public opinion swung over to the other side.
For example, vulnerable individuals with a history of trauma may approach meditation thinking it will cure all their problems and then be surprised by intense memories of their trauma resurfacing, preventing them from going about their day-to-day life. Such people rightly feel that meditation has been incorrectly advertised.
[+] [-] s_baby|11 years ago|reply
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yil-Oz2qBbg
[+] [-] ambler0|11 years ago|reply
Why not recruit older controls?
[+] [-] keithflower|11 years ago|reply
They did comment on the issue in their discussion: "We examined whether age was an important factor in producing the baseline differences we observed by comparing the three youngest practitioners with the controls and found that the mean age difference between groups is unlikely the sole factor responsible for this baseline difference. Moreover, hours of practice but not age significantly predicted relative gamma activity during the initial baseline period."
[+] [-] unknown|11 years ago|reply
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