Functional Connectivity of Prefrontal Cortex in Various Meditation Techniques – A Mini-Review
International Journal of Yoga September 1, 2022 Mrithunjay Rathore, Meghnath Verma, Mohit Nirwan et al. 28 citations
Meditation practices—including mindfulness, compassion, transcendental, and focused attention—improve prefrontal cortex functions such as cognition, self-awareness, attention, and memory while reducing psychological symptoms. These benefits are linked to increased functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions, including the default mode network, and to increased gray matter volume. Neuroimaging studies of healthy meditators compared with non-meditators show that meditation enhances neural processing, attention, working memory, cognitive control, emotion regulation, self-perception, and self-compassion, and decreases anxiety, depression, perceived stress, negative emotion, and hyperarousal. Altered prefrontal connectivity occurs in neurological and psychosocial disorders, suggesting meditation may help treat them.