Meditation and breath

Does Meditation Really Change the Brain? What Happens Over Time

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Not in the way popular headlines suggest, at least not after a short course. A 2022 trial that its authors describe as the largest and most rigorously controlled of its kind found no structural brain changes after an eight-week mindfulness program compared with either an active control group or a waitlist. Whether years of practice change the brain is still an open question, because those studies compare meditators with non-meditators rather than following people over time.

Where did the brain-change idea come from?

From a few small studies. The authors of the 2022 trial note that earlier reports of changes in brain structure after the eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course were widely referenced despite major methodological limitations. Those studies reported, for example, increased gray matter density in the hippocampus and other regions, and some later pilot trials had fewer than 15 participants and no control group.

What did the 2022 trial find?

The study by Kral and colleagues in Science Advances combined two randomized controlled trials:

  • Participants: 218 adults with no meditation experience.
  • Groups: an eight-week MBSR course (75), a validated, matched active control program (73) and a waitlist (70).
  • Measures: gray matter volume, gray matter density and cortical thickness, from MRI scans before and after.
  • Result: no evidence that MBSR produced structural changes compared with either control group, across the whole brain or in the specific regions earlier studies had highlighted.

The authors describe it as the largest and most rigorously controlled study of its kind to date.

Don’t other reviews say the opposite?

Some do. A 2024 systematic review in Biomedicines by Calderone and colleagues concludes that mindfulness, particularly through MBSR, improves brain structure. Part of the difference may lie in study design: a review that pools earlier, smaller studies can reach a different conclusion from a single large trial built to test the claim with an active control group.

One source you may still see cited has been withdrawn. A 2023 meta-analysis in Scientific Reports, titled “Mindfulness-based randomized controlled trials led to brain structural changes,” has been retracted, with the retraction published in July 2025. If you see it cited, the citation is out of date.

What about long-term meditators?

The question remains open. Kral and colleagues note that the studies pooled in an earlier review were largely cross-sectional comparisons of long-term practitioners, who may have preexisting differences from non-meditators and lifestyle factors linked to long periods of practice and retreats. A snapshot comparison cannot show that meditation caused the difference.

What this means for your practice

Meditate for what you can notice in your own experience, such as how you respond to stress or how quickly you settle, rather than for a promised change on a brain scan. If a course, app or teacher advertises that a few weeks of practice will rebuild your brain, the 2022 controlled trial does not support that promise.

This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.

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