ABSTRACT
Meditation has been an integral part of many spiritual and healing traditions for over 5,000 years. It has become increasingly popular in many countries and there has been a burgeoning of research on the potential benefits of meditation for reducing stress and anxiety, and improving physical health and well-being. More recently researchers have started to examine the cognitive benefits of various meditation practices and to study the impact of meditation on the brain. Research findings suggest that even short periods of meditation can change brain structure and function and lead to improvements in cognitive function. Preliminary evidence indicates that meditation training can specifically enhance working memory as well as protect working memory capacity from deteriorating during periods of high stress. In this chapter we review recent findings of research on the relationship between meditation, attention, and memory. We also examine the neural correlates of meditation and review findings from neuroscientific studies.
