Analyses revealed reduced connectivity between major networks and key nodes after the retreat, alongside a notable increase between the left insula and posterior cingulate in line with absorptive contemplative states.

The program combined meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo elements, including guided practices and Kundalini techniques, with findings showing broad neural and molecular effects.

Metabolic profiling showed post-retreat plasma driving higher glycolysis in neuron-like cells, indicating a more flexible metabolic state with increased glycolytic activity and altered mitochondrial respiration.

Gene and small RNA analyses in blood revealed shifts in brain-related pathways, indicating systemic molecular signaling changes.

The study, published in Communications Biology, was funded by the InnerScience Research Fund and VA Research Career Scientist Award, with disclosures noting an author’s employment by Encephalon, Inc.

In a seven-day immersive mind–body retreat at UC San Diego, 20 healthy adults experienced rapid, multi-system biological changes—brain imaging and blood markers indicating neuroplasticity, metabolic shifts, immune activation, and pain-relief mechanisms.

Future directions include longitudinal studies to assess durability of changes and the impact of repeated retreats.

Post-intervention exosome-derived non-coding RNAs showed distinct expression changes, influenced by timepoint and practitioner experience, suggesting lasting molecular signaling shifts.

Endogenous opioids rose in the blood after the retreat, signaling activation of the body's natural pain-relief systems even in an open-label context.

Mystical Experience Questionnaire scores rose post-retreat and higher scores correlated with greater brain network integration and broader biological changes.

Researchers aim to extend the work to patients with chronic pain, mood dysregulation, or immune dysfunction to define therapeutic parameters and long-term benefits.

Immune signaling became more complex, with simultaneous increases in both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers, suggesting a nuanced re-calibration of immune responses.