Four weeks of daily Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), a whole-body movement contemplative practice, increased cognitive flexibility and ideational fluency more than verbal or simple motor training alone. In a pilot longitudinal MRI study, gray matter volume and fractional anisotropy changes in several brain regions, including the cerebellum, correlated positively with cognitive flexibility scores. These preliminary results support a connection between motor practice and creativity, consistent with models integrating cognitive flexibility, embodiment, and the motor system.
Silence-related experiences during meditation are linked to changes in brain structure and reduced attentional effort. In a study of Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), participants who reported increased silence-related experiences after six weeks of practice also showed decreased attentional effort and increased fractional anisotropy in the left uncinate fasciculus, a white-matter tract. The findings suggest that silence in meditation involves specific neuroanatomical changes and may reduce the cognitive effort required to maintain attention.