We all know the expression “to change your mind”. But is it possible literally to change your mind – or, to be more precise, to change your brain? Reports from 2005 say yes.
First, the bad news, at least for smokers: a study from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, concludes that smoking makes people less intelligent. On cognitive tests (that is, tests that involve judgment), smokers did significantly worse than non-smokers. The theory is that toxins – poisons – in the smoke enter the blood and damage blood vessels providing the brain with oxygen. And there is more bad news, for most of us: a study from the University of London says that “infomania” – the constant flood of information from cell phones, emails, and text messaging – can reduce intelligence by ten points on an IQ test.
However, there is also good news: meditation seems to change the “wiring” in the brain in several positive ways. In a study that compared the brains of eight lifelong Buddhist meditators who work with the Dalai Lama with the brains of beginner meditators, scientists discovered that there were significant differences. The expert meditators had higher levels of gamma brain waves, which improve memory, learning, and concentration. Meditation appears to do for the brain what physical training does for the body. The researcher Richard Davidson said, “The trained mind, or brain, is physically different from the untrained one.” Perhaps we should consider going into training
In the context of the text, what analogy does the researcher Richard Davidson draw between meditation and physical training?
Meditation is equivalent to doing nothing for the brain.
Meditation is to the brain what weightlifting is to the body.
Meditation and physical training have no similarities.