The practice of mindfulness meditation originated as an ancient Buddhi

Question

The practice of mindfulness meditation originated as an ancient Buddhist meditation technique in which the meditator focuses on being aware of the present moment and acknowledging feelings and thoughts as they come and go. In recent years, brain Line imaging techniques have shed light on the effects on the brain and body of those who participate in a couple of hours of mindfulness meditation each week.

MRI scans conducted on the brains of people who engaged in an eight—week meditation practice showed an apparent reduction in the size of the amygdala. Commonly thought of as the primal "fight or flight" center of the brain, the amygdala dictates the response to stress. While the amygdala appears to shrink because of meditation, the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with concentration and awareness, thickens, and the relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain appears to weaken. These findings prompted researchers to hypothesize that increased meditation may be capable of replacing our fearful responses to stress with more rational ones.
 
While researchers have called for more studies to be done on the mental and physical ramifications of mindfulness meditation, a new debate has emerged over whether meditation itself is a science. Proponents of meditation—as—science argue that science is the study of the natural world through observation and experiment to produce a unified body of knowledge on a given subject. Meditation, says the argument, is the observation of one's own mind, and a body of knowledge has been built over thousands of years as the result of consistent experimentation of techniques to observe and better understand the consciousness of the mind.    1 
 1. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the amygdala? 
 
A. Extended meditation causes long—term damage to the amygdala.
B. The response to stress produced by the amygdala is less valuable than the response produced by the prefrontal cortex.
C. There is a direct correlation between the size of the amygdala and the thickness of the prefrontal cortex.
D. The size difference of the amygdala between those who practice meditation and those who do not may impact their responses to stress.
E. The relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain is weakened as a result of the thickening of the prefrontal cortex.

2 
 2. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. convincing the reader of the benefits of meditation
B. outlining the science of the response the brain has to meditation and the debates the practice inspires
C. arguing that meditation is the most effective way to depress the “fight or flight” response
D. validating the stance of those who believe meditation is a science
E. teaching people how to better handle stress

3 
 3. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about fearful responses to stress?

A. Fearful responses to stress can be replaced with more rational responses if the person engages in a couple of hours of meditation per week.
B. Fearful responses to stress occur more regularly in people with a thin prefrontal cortex.
C. There is some debate over whether the research behind reducing fearful responses to stress should be considered science.
D. Researchers believe that further study regarding fearful responses to stress and the relationship those responses have to mindfulness meditation is warranted.
E. Fearful responses to stress can be seen on an MRI scan.

4 
 4. Which of the following scenarios would a proponent of meditation—as—science be most likely to argue is not a science?

A. A worldwide effort to uncover the secrets of a little—known video game.
B. A thorough review of popular literature with the goal of analyzing sentence structure and word choice for similarities.
C. The study of stars and planet movement to notice patterns that correlate to terrestrial events.
D. The observation of fashion trends over the course of hundreds of years to predict fashion in the future.
E. Collecting samples of wood used in the construction of log cabins to determine which wood produces the most stable product.

AnirudhaS · Answer

Answers are in  bold .

1. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the amygdala?
A. Extended meditation causes long—term damage to the amygdala.
B. The response to stress produced by the amygdala is less valuable than the response produced by the prefrontal cortex.
C. There is a direct correlation between the size of the amygdala and the thickness of the prefrontal cortex.
 D. The size difference of the amygdala between those who practice meditation and those who do not may impact their responses to stress. 
E. The relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain is weakened as a result of the thickening of the prefrontal cortex.

Explanation of question 1: 
A - Meditation heals not damages. Out.
B - The comparison of which is more valuable is not made between anygdala and pre-frontal cortex (PFC).
C - Correlation is there between size of amygdala and meditation.
D - Perfect. Exactly as explained in choice C.
E - No they are independent.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The passage is primarily concerned with
A. convincing the reader of the benefits of meditation
 B. outlining the science of the response the brain has to meditation and the debates the practice inspires 
C. arguing that meditation is the most effective way to depress the “fight or flight” response
D. validating the stance of those who believe meditation is a science
E. teaching people how to better handle stress

Explanation of question 2: 
A - It does not convince the reader, rather puts the fact in front of the reader.
B - I think this is the strongest. It encompasses all the paragraphs nicely.
C - Does not argue. Out.
D - Too specific.
E - No just stating some scientific facts. He does not make an effort to teach people.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about fearful responses to stress?
A. Fearful responses to stress can be replaced with more rational responses if the person engages in a couple of hours of meditation per week.
B. Fearful responses to stress occur more regularly in people with a thin prefrontal cortex.
 C. There is some debate over whether the research behind reducing fearful responses to stress should be considered science. 
D. Researchers believe that further study regarding fearful responses to stress and the relationship those responses have to mindfulness meditation is warranted.
E. Fearful responses to stress can be seen on an MRI scan.

Explanation of question 3: 
A - No where it is written if it is a couple of hours in a week or more? Passage states - "MRI scans conducted on the brains of people who engaged in an  eight—week meditation practice  showed an apparent reduction in the size of the amygdala."
B - Again cannot be inferred. They are independent. A thick PFC only improves concentration, which although good for the mind does not tell us that if it can combat stress effectively.
C - Yes there is definitely a debate about if meditation being a science of not. Therefore, it can be reasonably inferred that fearful response to stress should also be considered as science, as they are both related, as author has proven.
D - Dont think that is what the author intends.
E - Absolutely not.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which of the following scenarios would a proponent of meditation—as—science be most likely to argue is not a science?
 A. A worldwide effort to uncover the secrets of a little—known video game. 
B. A thorough review of popular literature with the goal of analyzing sentence structure and word choice for similarities.
C. The study of stars and planet movement to notice patterns that correlate to terrestrial events.
D. The observation of fashion trends over the course of hundreds of years to predict fashion in the future.
E. Collecting samples of wood used in the construction of log cabins to determine which wood produces the most stable product.

Explanation of question 4: 
A - This is the weakest choice when it comes to if it can be regarded as science. I mean there is an effort to uncover the secret of a video game, but it does not use any of the points which the author argues for meditation being one of the sciences.
B - Although a tempting choice, this loses out because there is a clear goal and it is a ' result of consistent experimentation of techniques to observe '.
C - Study of natural world, definitely science.
D - Observation over significant period of time. Definitely science.
E - Experiments and observations done here. Definitely science.

SiffyB · Answer

1. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the amygdala?
 
A. Extended meditation causes long—term damage to the amygdala.
  B. The response to stress produced by the amygdala is less valuable than the response produced by the prefrontal cortex. 
 C. There is a direct correlation between the size of the amygdala and the thickness of the prefrontal cortex.
D. The size difference of the amygdala between those who practice meditation and those who do not may impact their responses to stress.
E. The relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain is weakened as a result of the thickening of the prefrontal cortex.

Let's figure out the ones that are least likely to be the correct choice.
(A) Not stated in the passage. The passage states that the size of amygdala decreases with meditation but no information about damage to amygdala is stated.
(B) The response from amygdala is a fearful response, and the response from prefrontal cortex is a more rational one. Thus, we can say that rational response is more valuable that fearful response. This can likely be the answer. Let's check the other options.
(C) This is again not stated in the passage. This option lifts information from the passage and connects them in a wrong context. Thus, this option is incorrect.
(D) What worries me about this option is how can 'size difference impact responses to stress'? Also, there are three factors that together combine to impact responses - shrinking size of amygdala, thickening of the prefrontal cortex and the weakening relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain. Not the size of amygdala alone.
(E) This is recycled language, however, the context is not set properly and, therefore, this is not our correct answer.

2. The passage is primarily concerned with
 
A. convincing the reader of the benefits of meditation
  B. outlining the science of the response the brain has to meditation and the debates the practice inspires 
 C. arguing that meditation is the most effective way to depress the “fight or flight” response
D. validating the stance of those who believe meditation is a science
E. teaching people how to better handle stress

(B) most effectively and concisely presents the main purpose of the passage. Let's talk about why the other options are not correct:
(A) The author does not delve deep into the benefits of meditation. Of course, he does refer to the changes that take place in the brain, but that is only one aspect of it. Also, the author does not want to convince its readers that these benefits exist. From his tone, I infer that he is just concerned about giving out this information. Also, the last passage has not been referenced in this option, and hence, is incorrect.
(C) The tone of the author is not argumentative, nor does he say that meditation is the BEST way to depress the "fight or flight" response. There may very well be other, better ways to achieve the same result.
(D) While the author might validate the stance of a few people, she is not primarily concerned about it. This option limits the scope of the passage to merely paragraph 3. Thus, this option is incorrect.
(E) This is not mentioned in the passage, let alone the primary purpose of the passage. Out

3. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about fearful responses to stress?
 
A. Fearful responses to stress can be replaced with more rational responses if the person engages in a couple of hours of meditation per week.
B. Fearful responses to stress occur more regularly in people with a thin prefrontal cortex.
C. There is some debate over whether the research behind reducing fearful responses to stress should be considered science.
  D. Researchers believe that further study regarding fearful responses to stress and the relationship those responses have to mindfulness meditation is warranted.  
E. Fearful responses to stress can be seen on an MRI scan.

(A) According to the passage, the researchers hypothesized that fearful responses to stress MAY be replaced with rationals ones if people meditate. This states a possibility, not surety as "CAN" used in this option suggests. Thus, this is incorrect.
(B) This information is not presented in the passage.
(C) The passage suggests that there is debate over whether 'meditation should be considered science', not whether a 'research' should be considered science. This option is incorrect.
(E) Responses being seen on an MRI scan is not stated in the passage.
Thus, option (D) is our correct answer and is clearly stated in the first sentence of paragraph 3 of the passage as well.

4. Which of the following scenarios would a proponent of meditation—as—science be most likely to argue is not a science?
 
A. A worldwide effort to uncover the secrets of a little—known video game.
B. A thorough review of popular literature with the goal of analyzing sentence structure and word choice for similarities.
C. The study of stars and planet movement to notice patterns that correlate to terrestrial events.
D. The observation of fashion trends over the course of hundreds of years to predict fashion in the future.
  E. Collecting samples of wood used in the construction of log cabins to determine which wood produces the most stable product.

According to the proponents of meditation-as-science, "science is the study of the natural world through observation and experiment to produce a unified body of knowledge on a given subject". Thus, we need to determine the subject of discussion and evidence of observation or experiment to produce knowledge on that subject. 
(A) Subject: Video games; Evidence of observation or experiment: Worldwide efforts
(B) Subject: literature; Evidence of observation or experiment: Thorough review
(C) Subject: Stars and planet movement; Evidence of observation or experiment: The study
(D) Subject: Fashion trends; Evidence of observation or experiment: The observation of trends
(E) Subject: Wood; Evidence of observation or experiment:  Collecting samples (?)

Collection of data does not amount to their observation/study. Thus, option (E) is not an example of science and is, thus, incorrect here.

GDT · Answer

1. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the amygdala?

A. Extended meditation causes long—term damage to the amygdala.  Incorrect. the passage tells us about how meditation may reduce the size of Amygdala but it need not be a harmful change or a damage to Amygdala

B. The response to stress produced by the amygdala is less valuable than the response produced by the prefrontal cortex.  Amygdala & Prefrontal cortex perform different functions and as such we can't infer that the response of one is more or less important than the other

C. There is a direct correlation between the size of the amygdala and the thickness of the prefrontal cortex.  Incorrect. there is an inverse relation b/w the size of Amygdala and that of prefrontal cortex. the passage mentions the following in 2nd para :

D. The size difference of the amygdala between those who practice meditation and those who do not may impact their responses to stress.   Correct. As given in the 2nd para, MRI scans of the brains of people who practiced mindfulness meditation for 8 weeks and of those who didn't practice meditation revealed a reduction in size of Amygdala and an increase in size of Prefrontal cortex. This observation made the scientists to hypothesize that increased meditation may be capable of replacing fearful responses to stress with more rational ones. Thus, we can infer that a change in size of Amygdala impacted the response to stress of the two sets of people

E. The relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain is weakened as a result of the thickening of the prefrontal cortex.  The passage only states the changes observed both in physical terms (size of Amygdala and that of prefrontal cortex) and in non-physical terms (weakening of relationship b/w Amygdala and rest of the brain, but it does not necessarily establish or give a hint of a possible interconnection, i.e., we can't infer that relationship between the amygdala and the rest of the brain is weakened as a result of the thickening of the prefrontal cortex

2. The passage is primarily concerned with

A. convincing the reader of the benefits of meditation  Incorrect. The 3rd para states that though scientists based on their research hypothesize that regular meditation helps replace our fearful response to stress with more rational ones but still they feel that more research is warranted to discern the mental and physical consequences of medication before settling on any one belief

B. outlining the science of the response the brain has to meditation and the debates the practice inspires   Correct. 
Para 1   introduces us to the concept of mindfulness meditation  and eludes to a technique used to find effects of meditation on the brain and body 
 Para 2   discusses The observations  from MRI scans of the people who did meditation for 8 weeks and gives a hypothesis
 Para 3  says  researchers call for more studies  on the same before arriving at any conclusion and that There is  debate  on whether Meditation is a science + gives view of the supporters of this theory

Hence, we can see that
 outlining the science of the response the brain has to meditation  - inferred from para 2
 debates the practice inspires  - inferred from para 3
 
C. arguing that meditation is the most effective way to depress the “fight or flight” response  Most effective is bit extreme considering that scientists have called for more research before arriving at any conclusion

D. validating the stance of those who believe meditation is a science  Incorrect. No validation is given, just views are expressed

E. teaching people how to better handle stress  Incorrect. Clearly this is not the primary purpose of whole passage

3. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about fearful responses to stress?

A. Fearful responses to stress can be replaced with more rational responses if the person engages in a couple of hours of meditation per week.  Incorrect. the passage only expresses a possibility, so use of "can" is not justifiable

B. Fearful responses to stress occur  more regularly  in people with a thin prefrontal cortex.  Incorrect. we don't know if such responses occur more regularly in such people. An extreme inference

C. There is some debate over whether the research behind reducing fearful responses to stress should be considered science.  Incorrect. the debate is over whether meditation is a science not on the research used to study meditation's effects

D. Researchers believe that further study regarding fearful responses to stress and the relationship those responses have to mindfulness meditation is 
warranted.   Correct by POE + by the following statement

E. Fearful responses to stress can be seen on an MRI scan.  Incorrect. we can't say see the fearful responses but only the physical changes in size of Amygdala and that of prefrontal cortex

4. Which of the following scenarios would a proponent of meditation—as—science be most likely to argue is not a science?

A. A worldwide effort to uncover the secrets of a little—known video game.   Correct  This activity doesn't align with building a unified body of knowledge

B. A thorough review of popular literature with the goal of analyzing sentence structure and word choice for similarities.  Incorrect. It involves observation and experimentation of literary aspects to make a unified set of knowledge

C. The study of stars and planet movement to notice patterns that correlate to terrestrial events.  Incorrect. it involves observation of movements and making a unified body of knowledge by noticing patterns and experimentation by comparing these patterns with terrestrial events

D. The observation of fashion trends over the course of hundreds of years to predict fashion in the future.  There is observation of trends and a body of knowledge is built through experimentation

E. Collecting samples of wood used in the construction of log cabins to determine which wood produces the most stable product.  Incorrect. it involves observation of the wood types and experimentation regarding their stability

The practice of mindfulness meditation originated as an ancient Buddhi

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The practice of mindfulness meditation originated as an ancient Buddhi

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