b'C E N T E R F O R R E S I L I E N C EN E G A T I V E S C H O O L B E H A V I O RREDUCED NEGATIVEForty-five African American adolescents were randomly SCHOOL BEHAVIORS assigned to either Transcendental Meditation (TM) or health Health and Quality of Lifeeducation (HE) control groups, with a four-month intervention Outcomes, 2003, 1:10 period. Results showed significant reductions in absenteeism, rule infractions, and suspensions in the TM group compared to controls.RESEARCH FIELD SITE: Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GASupported in Part by National Institutes of Health Grant HL62976R E A C T I V I T Y T O P A I NLOWER BRAINLong-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation REACTIVITY TO PAIN technique showed lower reactivity to thermally induced pain, Neuroreport, 2006 Augustas measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 21; 17(12): 13591363 compared to healthy matched controls. After the controls learned the technique and practiced it for five months, their response decreased by 4050% in the total brain, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex, and to a lesser extent in the anterior cingulate cortex. The results suggest that the Transcendental Meditation technique reduces the affective/motivational dimension of the brains response to pain.RESEARCH FIELD SITE: University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CANational Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Grant P50-AT00082-0534'