During transcendental meditation, the prefrontal cortex lights up and is enhanced.

Judged against the published neuroscience on Transcendental Meditation (TM) as of Feb 2018. True: peer-reviewed studies (EEG or imaging) consistently show that the prefrontal cortex becomes more active, more coherent or otherwise enhanced during TM. Mostly true: such studies exist and generally support increased prefrontal activity or coherence during TM, but 'enhanced' overstates the findings a little (for example, short-term state effects rather than lasting enhancement). Mixed: the evidence is split, with some studies showing increased prefrontal activity or coherence during TM and others showing none or a decrease. Mostly false: the support comes only from small, early or TM-organisation-affiliated studies, or from meditation in general rather than TM, and is presented as established; or the research is inconclusive. False: well-designed studies show no increase, or a decrease, in prefrontal activity during TM.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 [PDF] fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice - Fred Travis Brain and Cognition (Elsevier); authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard · 2018

   “During Transcendental Meditation practice, blood flow patterns were significantly higher in executive and attention areas (anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices)”

2. E2 [PDF] fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice - Fred Travis Brain and Cognition (Elsevier); authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard · 2018

   “This study used a within group design to investigate blood flow patterns (fMRI) in 16 long-term practitioners of”

3. E3 [PDF] fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice - Fred Travis Brain and Cognition (Elsevier); authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard · 2018

   “Activation of the anterior cingulate gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex have been reported during other meditation practices”

4. E4 [PDF] fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice - Fred Travis Brain and Cognition (Elsevier); authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard

   “Received in revised form 23 February 2018; Accepted 25 February 2018”

5. E5 fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice Brain and Cognition (Elsevier), 123 (2018) 30–33; authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard · 2018

   “During Transcendental Meditation practice, blood flow patterns were significantly higher in executive and attention areas (anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices)”

6. E6 fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice Brain and Cognition (Elsevier), 123 (2018) 30–33; authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard · 2018

   “The meditation condition was distinguished by higher wide spread activation in bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus (BA 24 and 32) and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (BA 46) and areas of deactivation in the pons and cerebellum.”

7. E7 fMRI during Transcendental Meditation practice Brain and Cognition (Elsevier), 123 (2018) 30–33; authors Mahone, Travis, Gevirtz, Hubbard · 2018

   “Activation of the anterior cingulate gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex have been reported during other meditation practices”

8. E8 Comparison of coherence, amplitude, and eLORETA patterns during Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi practice PubMed (NCBI), for Int J Psychophysiol · 2 July 2011

   “Compared to TM practice, TM-Sidhi practice was characterized by higher frontal alpha1 and beta1 amplitudes, and eLORETA-identified sources of alpha1 EEG in right-hemisphere object recognition areas”

The only direct support is a 16-person fMRI study. It reports higher dorsolateral prefrontal activation during the TM condition (E1, E6), in a within-group fMRI study of 16 long-term practitioners (E2). However, it was accepted on 25 February 2018 (E4), which is after the 1 February 2018 date the claim is judged against, so it was not part of the published research at that date. The study also notes that similar activation has been reported in other kinds of meditation (E3, E7). The 2011 EEG study (E8) compares TM with TM-Sidhi rather than with a rest condition, so it does not show whether the prefrontal cortex is more active during TM. The evidence does not establish what the published research on TM showed as of February 2018.