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Frederick Travis1,2, Sarina Grosswald2 and William Stixrud3
Affiliations: 1Director, Center for the Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition, 1000 North 4th Street, Fairfield, IA 52557, USA; 2Maharishi University of Management Research Institute, Maharishi Vedic City, IA 52557, USA and 3Department of Psychiatry, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC 20057, USA
Correspondence: Frederick Travis, PhD, Director, Center for the Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition, 1000 North 4th Street, Fairfield, IA 52557, USA. Tel/Fax: 641 472 1209; e-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
This random-assignment pilot study investigated effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice on task performance and brain functioning in 18 ADHD students, age 11-14 years. Students were pretested, randomly assigned to TM or delayed-start comparison groups, and posttested at 3- and 6-months. Delayed-start students learned TM after the 3-month posttest. Three months TM practice resulted in significant decreases in theta/beta ratios, increased theta coherence, a trend for increased alpha and beta1 coherence, and increased Letter Fluency. The delayed-start group similarly had decreased theta/beta ratios and increased letter fluency at the 6-month posttest, after they practiced TM for 3 months. Also, all students significantly improved on five ADHD-symptoms over the six months of the study, as reported in the parent's survey. These findings warrant additional research to assess the impact of TM practice as a nondrug treatment of ADHD.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)--characterized by inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity--is diagnosed in 8% of children age 4-17 years.1 Factors associated with increased risk of ADHD include unhealthy maternal lifestyle (drinking and smoking), premature birth and low birth weight, and poor early childhood care.2-4 Some researchers also theorize that there is a genetic factor associated with ADHD.5-7 Studies identify imbalances in dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems in ADHD children,8, 9 along with developmental abnormalities in fronto-striatal circuits that lead to maladaptive response to environmental challenge. These abnormalities include (1) lower frontal metabolic rates as measured by PET10 and by MRI,11 (2) lower myelination in frontal-striatal circuits,12 and (3) lower cortical volume in left frontal and temporal areas.11, 13
The EEG studies report decreased activation in ADHD populations in parietal cross-modal matching areas that weave sensory input into concrete perception,14 higher density and amplitude of theta activity,15, 16 and lower density and amplitude of alpha and beta activity.17 Theta/beta power ratios are...