There is evidence that a specific method of meditation may temporarily enhance peoples visuospatial abilities, according to a newly published research.
Given the reports suggesting that Buddhist monks have exceptional imagery skills and are able to maintain complex images in their visual short-term memory for minutes or even hours, a team of psychologists from the George Mason University investigated the effects of different styles of Buddhist meditation on such skills.
The researchers focused on Deity Yoga (DY) and Open Presence (OP) techniques and asked experienced DY or OP meditation practitioners along with nonmeditators to participate in visuospatial tasks conducted in two stages.
The tasks tested their mental rotation abilities (being able to mentally rotate a 3-D structure) and visual memory.
The results revealed that all of the participants performed similarly on the initial set of tests. However, following the meditation period, practitioners of the DY style showed a dramatic improvement on both tasks compared to OP practitioners and controls.
These results indicate that DY meditation allows practitioners to access greater levels of visuospatial memory resources.
“[These findings have] many implications for therapy, treatment of memory loss and mental training,” write the authors, suggesting future studies will need to examine if other visual meditation techniques have similar benefits.
Some health practitioners have also recommended using nutritional supplements, such as those containing ginkgo biloba, to help boost memory. 