Did the Neanderthals meditate?

The prefrontal cortex has expanded rapidly in the later stages of human development.

It has turned out to be a staggeringly powerful tool for our species. Paradoxically, one of its functions may be to increase stress, because it enhances our ability to foresee future problems. In a fortunate twist of fate, however, it has also provided us with a means of reducing stress: meditation.

Relaxation and stress are often regarded as opposites. The influence of the relaxation response on our physiological balance is the reverse of that of the stress response. Both stress and relaxation start in the brain and are distributed throughout the body through the autonomic nervous system and by means of hormones. The stress response is much older than man himself. Even primitive species react with stress. The ability to use meditation, however, as a self-induced mechanism of relaxation, appeared far later in our developmental history.

We have seen no reports of meditation-like behaviour or phenomena in animals. We can only guess when meditation was first developed and employed. One hundred thousand years ago, or 40,000 years ago, or later? Current science suggests that the parts of the brain that have reached their highest development in humans are those most consistently employed during meditation. Our human species, the CroMagnon, became fully developed 40,000 years ago.

But were the Neanderthals able to meditate as well? Recent genetic and anthropological research suggests that the Neanderthals could speak (cf. Krause et al. 2007). Findings that shed light on their way of life show indirectly that they had a well-developed sense of empathy and probably a capacity for mental reflection. Aspects of language processing are used in at least some forms of meditation, and self-reflection is widely regarded as an integral part of meditation. Was meditation developed to promote relaxation by modulating the activity in the hypothalamus and the autonomic nervous system, or for the purposes of reflecting on one’s existence and experiences through prefrontal cortex activity? Or are these two processes intricately linked and interdependent in meditation?

Stress has always been with us

We often assume that modern-day man is far more susceptible to stress than people were in previous times: long work hours, deadlines, high mortgages, traffic jams, picking up children from day-care and school, etc. We tend to believe that all this used to be easier – that life was lived at a more leisurely pace and in closer relation to nature and each other. There may be some truth in this, but in fact the picture seems to be more complicated.

Norwegian researcher Hege Eriksen (University of Bergen) and her co-workers have shown that traditional people may be even more burdened with physical and psychological stress conditions than people living in busy, modern societies. They investigated the prevalence in indigenous people living in the Philippine rain forests of aches and muscular-skeletal diseases, as well as fatigue and depression. These are well-known symptoms of stress in industrial societies. Surprisingly, these non-industrialised people had precisely the same ailments as a comparable Norwegian population, only more so. Perhaps living without modern technology and conveniences isn’t so enjoyable after all? At any rate, stress is clearly not a modern condition.

The prefrontal cortex in stress and meditation

It may be that humans are more susceptible to stress than other species. From a developmental perspective, the human brain has developed extremely rapidly – increasing from 0.4 litres to 1.4 litres in volume over the course of the last 1–3 million years. Growth in the frontal part of the brain, where we find the prefrontal cortex, has been particularly significant. These new cortical areas have provided us with the ability to see logical patterns, interpret our surroundings, and understand our future in vastly increased detail compared to other species.

As useful as it has been, this growth of the prefrontal cortex may also be experienced as a burden. To realise that you may encounter famine during the coming winter, and that your children may die, because this year’s harvest was bad, is a stress factor in itself, in addition to the obvious stress that comes later, when the actual physical hunger sets in.

The stress response is a marvellous ‘invention’, dramatically increasing our effort levels and physical power. But the dark side of the coin is that long-standing stress constitutes a strain for body and brain. Many psychiatrists and endocrinologists view severe depression as a form of prolonged stress. Scientists point to an unfavourable interaction between the prefrontal cortex and two other brain areas: the cingulate gyrus and the amygdala. Under normal conditions, the amygdala, which is a centre for emotions like fear, is kept in check by the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus. During depression, however, this inhibitory feedback is reduced, resulting in a dominant amygdala, which may give greater prominence to states such as anxiety and depression.

All the more interesting, then, that scientists now point to the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus as the most active brain regions during meditation. The prefrontal cortex may provide us with troubling insights about our social environment and our future, but it can also be employed for relaxation through meditative techniques.