AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 235, Issue 1 89-R92, Copyright © 1978 by American Physiological Society
Redistribution of blood flow in acute hypometabolic behavior
R. Jevning, A. F. Wilson, W. R. Smith and M. E. Morton
Cardiac output, renal and hepatic blood flows, arterial lactate
concentration, and minute volume were measured before, during, and after 40
min of rest induced either by the practice known as "transcendental
meditation" (TM) or by an ordinary eyes-closed rest-relaxation period. Two
groups of normal young adults were studied: one group consisted of regular
practitioners of TM and the other of similar individuals studied prior to
learning this technique. Marked declines of renal blood flow were noted in
both groups. Decline of hepatic blood flow, increased cardiac output,
decreased arterial lactate, and minute volume were also recorded in the
TM-induced rest period. These changes imply a considerable increase of
nonrenal, nonhepatic blood flow during TM (44%) and, to a lesser extent,
during rest (12%). Increased cerebral and/or skin blood flow is
hypothesized to account for part of the redistributed blood flow in the
practitioner.
