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Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics
Many studies have consistently demonstrated an epigenetic link between environmental stimuli and physiological as well as cognitive responses. Epigenetic mechanisms represent a way to regulate gene activity in real time without modifying the DNA sequence, thus allowing the genome to adapt its functi...
Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431950/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32849047 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01767 |
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author | Venditti, Sabrina Verdone, Loredana Reale, Anna Vetriani, Valerio Caserta, Micaela Zampieri, Michele |
author_facet | Venditti, Sabrina Verdone, Loredana Reale, Anna Vetriani, Valerio Caserta, Micaela Zampieri, Michele |
author_sort | Venditti, Sabrina |
collection | PubMed |
description | Many studies have consistently demonstrated an epigenetic link between environmental stimuli and physiological as well as cognitive responses. Epigenetic mechanisms represent a way to regulate gene activity in real time without modifying the DNA sequence, thus allowing the genome to adapt its functions to changing environmental contexts. Factors such as lifestyle, behavior, and the practice of sitting and moving mindful activities have been shown to be important means of environmental enrichment. Such practices, which include mindfulness meditation, Vipassana, Yoga, Tai Chi, and Quadrato Motor Training, have been reported to positively impact well-being. In fact, they can be considered emotional and attentional regulatory activities, which, by inducing a state of greater inner silence, allow the development of increased self-awareness. Inner silence can therefore be considered a powerful tool to counteract the negative effects of overabundant environmental noise, thanks to its power to relieve stress-related symptoms. Since all these positive outcomes rely on physiological and biochemical activities, the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms influenced by different mindful practices have recently started to be investigated. Here, we review some of the findings that could allow us to uncover the mechanisms by which specific practices influence well-being. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7431950 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-74319502020-08-25 Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics Venditti, Sabrina Verdone, Loredana Reale, Anna Vetriani, Valerio Caserta, Micaela Zampieri, Michele Front Psychol Psychology Many studies have consistently demonstrated an epigenetic link between environmental stimuli and physiological as well as cognitive responses. Epigenetic mechanisms represent a way to regulate gene activity in real time without modifying the DNA sequence, thus allowing the genome to adapt its functions to changing environmental contexts. Factors such as lifestyle, behavior, and the practice of sitting and moving mindful activities have been shown to be important means of environmental enrichment. Such practices, which include mindfulness meditation, Vipassana, Yoga, Tai Chi, and Quadrato Motor Training, have been reported to positively impact well-being. In fact, they can be considered emotional and attentional regulatory activities, which, by inducing a state of greater inner silence, allow the development of increased self-awareness. Inner silence can therefore be considered a powerful tool to counteract the negative effects of overabundant environmental noise, thanks to its power to relieve stress-related symptoms. Since all these positive outcomes rely on physiological and biochemical activities, the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms influenced by different mindful practices have recently started to be investigated. Here, we review some of the findings that could allow us to uncover the mechanisms by which specific practices influence well-being. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-08-11 /pmc/articles/PMC7431950/ /pubmed/32849047 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01767 Text en Copyright © 2020 Venditti, Verdone, Reale, Vetriani, Caserta and Zampieri. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Psychology Venditti, Sabrina Verdone, Loredana Reale, Anna Vetriani, Valerio Caserta, Micaela Zampieri, Michele Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics |
title | Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics |
title_full | Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics |
title_fullStr | Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics |
title_full_unstemmed | Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics |
title_short | Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics |
title_sort | molecules of silence: effects of meditation on gene expression and epigenetics |
topic | Psychology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431950/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32849047 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01767 |
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