UC San Diego study finds meditation retreat can rapidly reprogram the brain, body

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A weeklong meditation and healing retreat may do more than just calm the mind — it could rewire it.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have found that an immersive mind-body retreat produced measurable changes in brain function and blood biology, suggesting that intensive meditation may help the body heal and adapt on a fundamental level.

The findings, published this week in Communications Biology, show that combining multiple mind-body techniques — including meditation and focused breathing — can rapidly engage natural pathways related to neuroplasticity, metabolism, immunity, and pain relief.

“We’ve known for years that practices like meditation can influence health, but what’s striking is that combining multiple mind-body practices into a single retreat produced changes across so many biological systems that we could measure directly in the brain and blood,” said senior study author Hemal H. Patel, Ph.D., a professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. “This isn’t about just stress relief or relaxation — this is about fundamentally changing how the brain engages with reality.”

Inside the retreat

For the study, 20 healthy adults attended a seven-day residential program led by neuroscience educator and author Joe Dispenza, D.C. Participants took part in daily lectures, about 33 hours of guided meditation and group healing sessions.

Before and after the retreat, participants underwent functional MRI brain scans and blood tests to measure immune, metabolic and molecular activity.

The results

The researchers said they observed sweeping biological changes after the retreat, including:

• Brain efficiency: Meditation reduced activity in brain regions linked to mental chatter, allowing for more efficient brain function.
• Neuroplasticity boost: Blood plasma collected after the retreat helped neurons in the lab grow new connections.
• Metabolic flexibility: Post-retreat plasma increased cells’ sugar-burning activity.
• Natural pain relief: Blood levels of the body’s own opioids rose, suggesting activation of natural pain-relief systems.
• Immune response: Both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers increased, indicating an adaptive immune response.
• Gene activity: Small RNA and gene expression changes were detected in pathways tied to brain function.

Participants also reported significantly higher scores on the Mystical Experience Questionnaire, suggesting deeper feelings of unity and transcendence. Researchers noted that the brain activity patterns during these experiences mirrored those seen with psychedelic substances, but were achieved through meditation alone.

“We’re seeing the same mystical experiences and neural connectivity patterns that typically require psilocybin, now achieved through meditation practice alone,” said Patel. “Seeing both central nervous system changes in brain scans and systemic changes in blood chemistry underscores that these mind-body practices are acting on a whole-body scale.”

Mind-body healing

The team says the results help explain how meditation and related practices can promote physical and emotional health. By enhancing neuroplasticity and immune function, these techniques may support resilience, emotional regulation and potentially aid chronic pain management.

While the findings are based on healthy participants, researchers plan to expand the work to clinical populations with conditions like chronic pain, mood disorders and immune dysfunctions.

“This study shows that our minds and bodies are deeply interconnected — what we believe, how we focus our attention, and the practices we participate in can leave measurable fingerprints on our biology,” said first author Alex Jinich-Diamant, a doctoral student in the Departments of Cognitive Science and Anesthesiology at UC San Diego. “It’s an exciting step toward understanding how conscious experience and physical health are intertwined, and how we might harness that connection to promote well-being in new ways.”

The research was funded by the InnerScience Research Fund and the Veterans Administration Research Career Scientist Award.

The full study can be found here.