Evaluation of Transcendental Meditation as a Method of Reducing Stress.pdf
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within confined areas. Each i s t h e domi- nant species within i t s habitat. Both habi- tats feature open grassland, permanent water, an d low-lying areas subject t o flooding. Both kob ( 9 ) a n d lechwe prefer t o locate leks o n high o r exposed ground which is d r y bu t adjacent t o water. A t Lochinvar, f ew sites f t all these require- ments, a circumstance appropriate f o r t h e development o f a type of territorial- i t y i n which numbers o f territories a r e compressed together o n a f e w suitable l o - cations. A related finding i s that lekking w a s never observed outside t h e main rut- ting season, when t h e frequency o f mat- i n g w a s lower. Apparently, a necessary f o r lekking i s a large number o f adult males simultaneously rutting. T h e ecology of t h e Kafue Flats m a y a l - s o be responsible f o r some unique fea- tures i n t h e lekking behavior o f lechwe. There a r e variations i n flood levels from year t o year a n d gradually rising flood levels during each lekking T w o leks seen a t h e start o f t h e season were empty a month later; a fourth l e k w a s n o t seen until midway during t h e main rut- ting season when most lechwe had m i - grated o f f t h e floodplain. Reproduction seems t o b e organized around succes- sion o f temporary leks as the lechwe m i - grate t o higher ground. This could ex - plain t he almost continual chasing a n d fighting. O n n e leks, territories c an o n - l y b e marked by means of behavioral dis- plays. There a re n o conspicuous areas o f cropped ground, o r ex - crement t o denote territorial areas. This should contribute t o a more unstable situ- ation i n which neighbors a r e more likely t o wander into each other s territory, pre- cipitating territorial conflict. I t has been suggested that seasonal ter- ritoriality in antelope c a n b e usefully sub- divided into three stages corresponding t o successive periods when territories a r e established, maintained, a n d dis- solved 2 . Aggression i s supposedly most frequent an d intense during t h e ini- tial stage as contestants vie for posses- sion, establish boundaries, a n d expel competitors. Lechwe lekking m a y be an example o f a system that is perpetually i n t h e early stages o f territoriality. RICHARD H . SCHUSTER Department ofPsychology, University o f Zambia, Office B o x 2379, Lusaka, Zambia, Africa References a n d Notes 1. W . F. H . Ansell, Puku Occas. Pap. Dep. Wildl. Fish. Natl. Parks No. 2 (1964), p . 1 0 ; ibid. N o . 5 (1969), p . 1 . 2 . F . R . Walther, Zool. Afr. 7 , 3 0 3 (1972). 3 . A . de V os a n d R . J . Dowsett, Mammalia 3 0 , 3 0 (1966); P . C . Lent, East Afr. Wildl. J . 7 , 147 (1969). 4 . H. K. Buechner, Science 133, 69 8 (1961); Proc. 16th Int. Congr. Zool. 3 , 59 (1963); ___and R . 1242 Schloeth, Z . Tierpsychol. 2 2, 2 0 9 (1965); H. K . Buechner, J . A . Morrison, W . Leuthold, i n Comparative Biology o f Reproduction i n Mam- mals, I. W . Rowlands, E d . (Academic Press, N ew York, 1966), p p . 69-88; H. K. Buechner n d H. D . Roth, A m . Zool. 1 4 , 1 4 5 (1974); W . Leuthold, Behaviour 2 7 , 2 1 4 (1966). 5 . V . C . Wynne-Edwards, Animal Dispersion i n Relation t o Social Behaviour (Oliver Boyd, London, 1962), chap. 1 1 . 6 . J . A . Sayer a n d L . P. v a n Lavieren, East Afr. Wildl. J . 1 3, 9 (1975); B . L . Mitchell a n d J . M . C . Uys, Oryx Fauna Preserv. Soc. 6 , 1 7 1 (1961); W. L . Robinette a n d G . F . T . Child, Puku Occas. Pap. Dep. Wildl. Fish. Natl. Parks N o . 2 (1964), p . 8 4 . 7 . A hydroelectric project under construction o n t h e Kafue River i s scheduled for completion i n 1978. This includes dams u p - an d downriver from t h e lechwe habitat a n d could alter the ecology of t h e area b y reducing t h e extent a n d increasing t h e duration o f t h e annual flooding cycle. This, i n turn, would reduce the amount o f grass available for forage. Thus t h e lekking pat- terns described here m a y b e affected b y reduc- tion i n population density a n d b y interference with t h e annual migrations across lekking areas. Among t h e physiological an d biochem- ical changes that accompany stress ar e increased concentrations o f cate- cholamine i n t h e blood 1 . Exposing rats t o brief, but repeated, stressful situations permanently raises concentrations of cat- echolamine i n urine 2 . Although some degree of stress appears t o b e e s - sential f o r the success of both a society ( 3) a n d t h e individual (4), o u r society h a s become concerned with relieving stress. Some 900,000 persons i n th e United States ( 5 ) a r e reported t o practice tran- scendental meditation (TM), a technique said t o produce relief from stress, i n - creased awareness an d productivity, a n d a state o f well-being. Physiological changes characteristic o f rapidly induced, wakeful hypometabolic states have been described during the practice o f T M . These include changes i n electrodermal activity 6 , electroenceph- alographic waves (7), oxygen consump- tion, carbon dioxide elimination 7 , 8 ) , respiratory rate 7 , 8), blood pressure, (7), a n d heart rate 7 . Biochemical mea- surements reported t o b e altered during TM include bloodpH a n d lactate concen- trations 7 . I n most o f these studies th e meditating subjects a s their o w n controls. O u r investigation wa s undertaken t o T h e future o f the Kafue lechwe i s therefore u n - 8 . A . F . Fraser, Reproductive Behavior i n Ungu- lates (Academic Press, N e w York, 1968). 9. H. K . Buechner, i n T h e Behavior o f Ungulates a n d I t s Relation t o Management, V . Geist an d F . Walther, Eds. (Paper N o . 4 9, International Union f o r Conservation o f Nature a n d Natural R e - sources, Morges, Switzerland, 1974). 1 0 . I thank t h e Kafue Basin Research Program o f t h e University o f Zambia a n d t h e Fauna Preser- vation Society of t h e Zoological Society of Lon- d o n f o r continuing financial support a n d t h e Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation f o r dona- tion o f a land rover t o t he Kafue Basin Research Program. T h e Department o f Wildlife a n d Na - tional Parksof the Ministry o f Lands a n d Natural Resources gave permission for t h e study to b e carried o u t a t Lochinvar Park. M y children, B en an d Ruth, an d m y student, S. P. T . Nyandiya, provided many observations contained i n this report. T h e first draft wa s written while I wa s a visiting research fellow of t h e Laboratory of Expenmental Psychology, University o f Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, England. 25 November 1975; revised 30 March 1976 determine whether th e relief from stress apparently achieved b y practitioners of TM i s translated biochemically i n terms o f plasma catecholamine o r plasma lac- tate concentrations. (The latter can r e - flect alterations i n availability o f oxygen t o tissues.) Twelve volunteers, s i x males a n d s i x females, from the Students International Meditation Society served a s subjects forthe study. A l l 12 h ad received stan- dardized instruction i n TM. Nine were trained b y t h e Society an d were qualified a s teachers b y Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, t h e originator o f t h e technique. Th e selection of t h e meditators w a s e s - sentially random. Th e only conditions placed o n their acceptability were i that h a d been active meditators fo r a t least 1 2 months, ii that they were no t routine users o f drugs, an d iii that, to t h e best o f their knowledge, they were free o f a n y acute or chronic disabilities. Their ages ranged from 2 1 t o 5 0 years with a median of 2 5 . Al l members o f the group were Caucasian. Nine from t h e r e - search unit w h o were unfamiliar with t h e technique o f TM were chosen t o approxi- mate t h e a g e an d s e x distribution o f t h e experimental group. spacious, pleasant, quiet room equipped with a r m chair a n d hospital b e d SCIENCE VOL. 1 9 2 Evaluation o f Transcendental Meditation a s a Method o f Reducing Stress Abstract. Transcendental meditation i s t induce i n its practitioners an a l - tered state o f consciousness resulting i n relief o f stress, a n increased sense o f aware- ness, a nd a sense o f well-being. Release o f catecholamines h a s been associated wide- ly with stress a n d lends itselfto quantitation. Plasma epinephrine and norephineph- rine, a s well a s lactate, were measured i n 12 volunteers before, during, and after meditation. Values were compared with those obtained from controls matched fo r s e x a n d a g e w h o rested instead o f meditating. Essentially t h e same results were o b- tained f o r t h e t w o groups, which that meditation does n o t induce a unique metabolic state b u t i s seen biochemically a s a resting state. o n N o v e m b e r 6 , 2 0 0 8 w w w . s c i e n c e m a g . o r g D o w n l o a d e d f r o m
Evaluation of Transcendental Meditation as a Method of Reducing Stress.pdf
