Exploring the role of long non-coding RNA in meditation

Abstract

Studies conducted on meditation and Mind-Body intervention have demonstrated that continuous engagement in then practice have led to alteration in gene expression profile, especially in those genes that are involved in stress response, immune function, and inflammation. Long non-coding RNA once considered as transcriptional noise, have been discovered to be involved in a number of distinct biological activities, including as the processes of development, differentiation, and illness. There has been very little direct study done to investigate the association between lncRNAs and meditation up to this point. However, meditation has been extensively studied for its effects on gene expression and epigenetic regulation, which could directly or indirectly be influenced lncRNA activity. The work done in the thesis explain how Lnc-RNA can be regulated during the meditative state and how regulation of these Lnc can be involved in several cellular processes.