Damage to specific regions in the left and right inferior posterior parietal cortex can increase self-transcendence, a personality trait linked to spiritual feelings and behaviors. Combining personality assessments before and after neurosurgery with brain-lesion mapping, the authors found that selective damage to these parietal areas induced a specific increase in self-transcendence, suggesting that neural activity in temporoparietal areas can rapidly modulate this normally stable trait. The findings point to an active role of left and right parietal systems in self-transcendence and offer insights into the neurobiological basis of altered spiritual and religious attitudes in neurological and mental disorders.
Different meditation practices engage largely distinct brain networks. An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of 24 neuroimaging experiments (150 activation foci) compared focused attention (FA) meditation with mantra-based chanting or repetition. FA meditation activated clusters in the medial gyrus, left superior parietal lobe, left insula, and right supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Mantra practice elicited activity in the right SMG, supplementary motor area bilaterally, and left postcentral gyrus. Comparing short- versus long-term meditators, frontal activation was present for short-term practitioners, while experts showed greater right SMG recruitment and reduced frontal involvement, suggesting they sustain attentional focus more efficiently and engage processes related to disembodiment.