Serum hormonal concentrations following transcendental meditation - Potential role of gamma aminobutyric acid
Abstract
Transcendental mediation (TM) is a stylized form of physical and mental relaxation which is associated with changes in the secretion and release of several pituitary hormones. The hormonal changes induced by TM mimic the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). It is hypothesized that TM produces changes in pituitary hormone secretion by enhancing hypothalamic GABAergic tone, and its anxiolytic effects by promoting GABAergic tone in specific areas of the brain. This mechanism is similar to the effects of synthetic anxiolytic and tranquilizing agents such as benzodiazepines that bind to components of the GABA-A (GABAA) receptor. TM, therefore, may produce relaxation by enhancing the effects of an endogenous neurotransmitter analogous to the effects of endorphins in runners who reportedly experience a 'runner's high'.
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The relaxation response may be associated with greater pain tolerance, as it has the potential to enhance the brain's responsiveness to endorphins, cause muscle relaxation, reduce hypervigilance and emotional reactivity to pain, and desensitize central pain pathways.
“The relaxation response may be associated with greater pain tolerance, as it has the potential to enhance the brain’s responsiveness to endorphins40,41, cause muscle relaxation, reduce hypervigilance and emotional reactivity to pain and desensitize central pain pathways.25”
From <p>Pain and Evil: From Local Nociception to Misery Following Social Harm</p> (2020) · cites this paper as [40]
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References 51 · Cited by 34
- Authors
- Elias, A. N., & Wilson, A. F.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Elias, A.N.
- Venue
- Medical Hypotheses
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1995-04
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 287-291
- ISSN
- 0306-9877 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1965036450
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Medical Hypotheses (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Biofield Effects and Biophysics
- Keywords
- transcendental meditation, GABA, pituitary hormone secretion, anxiolytic effects, GABAA receptor, benzodiazepines, relaxation, endogenous neurotransmitters, runner's high, endorphins
- MeSH terms
- Arginine Vasopressin, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Humans, Hypothalamus, Models, Biological, Pituitary Hormones, Prolactin, Receptors, GABA-A, Relaxation Therapy, Stress, Physiological, Thyrotropin
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