Possible Anti-Aging and Anti-Stress Effects of Long-Term Transcendental Meditation Practice: Differences in Gene Expression, EEG Correlates of Cognitive Function, and Hair Steroids
Author: Supaya Wenuganen1,2, Kenneth G Walton2,3, Frederick T Travis1, Tobias Stalder4, R Keith Wallace2, Meera Srivastava5, John Fagan2,6
Affiliation:
1 Center for Brain, Cognition and Consciousness, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA 52557, USA.
2 Department of Physiology and Health, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA 52557, USA.
3 Institute for Prevention Research, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA 52557, USA.
4 Department of Psychology, University of Siegen, 57076 Siegen, Germany.
5 Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Genetics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
6 Health Research Institute, Fairfield, IA 52556, USA.
Conference/Journal: Biomolecules
Date published: 2025 Feb 20
Other:
Volume ID: 15 , Issue ID: 3 , Pages: 317 , Special Notes: doi: 10.3390/biom15030317. , Word Count: 324
Background: Our previous comparison of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from long-term Transcendental Meditation® (TM®) practitioners and matched non-practitioner controls found 200 differentially expressed (DE) genes. Bioinformatics analyses of these DE genes suggested a reduced risk of diseases associated with stress and aging in the TM group. Here we assessed additional signs of reduced stress and aging. Methods: A sample of 15 of the 200 DE genes was studied using qPCR in PBMCs from 40-year TM practitioners ("Old TM", n = 23) compared to a "Young Control" group (n = 19) and an "Old Control" group (n = 21) of non-meditators. In these three groups, plus a "Young TM", 12-year practitioner group (n = 26), we also studied EEG-based parameters of cognitive function (the Brain Integration Scale (BIS), and latency of three components of the event-related potential (ERP)). Finally, using LC/MS/MS, we compared persistent levels of cortisol (F) and its inactive congener, cortisone (E), in hair. Results: qPCR analysis showed that 13 of the 15 genes were more highly expressed in Old Controls than in Young Controls. In the Old TM group, 7 of these 13 were lower than in Old Controls. Both TM groups had higher BIS scores than their age-matched controls. The Old TM group had shorter N2, P3a, and P3b latencies than the Old Control group, and latencies in the Old TM group were not longer than in the Young Control group. The Hair F/Hair E ratio was higher in the control subgroups than in their age-matched TM subgroups, and Hair F was higher in the Young Control and combined control groups than in the Young TM and combined TM groups. Conclusions: These results are consistent with reductions in biomarkers of chronic stress and biological age in long-term TM meditators. They are also consistent with results from the previous study suggesting that TM practice lowers energy consumption or leads to more efficient energy metabolism.
Keywords: allostatic load; cognitive function; cortisol; human gene expression; meditation; public health; stress reduction.
PMID: 40149853 DOI: 10.3390/biom15030317
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