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Meditation may reshape your brain, new scan study hints

NCT ID NCT05418608

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Yale University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study used PET scans to compare the density of synapses—connections between brain cells—in 40 people: experienced meditators and non-meditators. Researchers gave participants a radioactive tracer that binds to a protein on synapses, then scanned their brains. The goal was to see if long-term meditation is linked to differences in brain structure.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
[11C]UCB-J (a radioactive tracer for PET scans)
What this could lead to
If successful, this could reveal how meditation changes the brain at a microscopic level, pointing toward new ways to support mental health.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-phase imaging study with only 40 participants, so results may not apply broadly. It measures brain activity, not health outcomes.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 1

The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.

Participants

40 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Apr 2022

Finished

Apr 2024

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

28 to 70 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 28-70 years * Voluntary, written, informed consent * Physically healthy by medical history, physical, ECG and laboratory examinations * At least 10 years and 5,000 hours of regular meditation practice * For females, non-lactating, no longer of child-bearing potential or agree to practice effective contraception during the study, as well as a negative serum pregnancy (β-HCG) test at screening, and negative urine pregnancy on PET scanning days. Exclusion Criteria: * A history of significant psychiatric, medical (e.g., cardiovascular, renal) or neurological (e.g., cerebrovascular, seizure, traumatic brain injury) illness that is unstable and/or might affect the study objectives. * Current or history of substance dependence (e.g., alcohol, nicotine, opiates, sedative hypnotics, etc.) * Subjects with history of prior radiation exposure for research purposes within the past year such that participation in this study would place them over FDA limits for annual radiation exposure. This guideline is an effective dose of 5 rem received per year. * Subjects with current, past or anticipated exposure to radiation in the work place within one year of proposed research PET scans that in combination with the study tracer would result in a cumulative exposure that exceeds recommended exposure limits. * Medical contraindications to participation in a magnetic resonance imaging procedure (e.g., ferromagnetic implants/foreign bodies, claustrophobia, cardiac pacemaker, prosthetic valve, otologic implant, etc.) * History of a bleeding disorder or are currently taking anticoagulants (such as Coumadin, Heparin, Pradaxa, Xarelto). * Medications that effect SV2A binding (e.g., levetiracetam).

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Health Behavior

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Behavior, health

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Yale University PET Center

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06519, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.