Body-mind relaxation meditation modulates the thalamocortical functional connectivity in major depressive disorder: a preliminary resting-state fMRI study.
Translational Psychiatry October 23, 2021 Fangfang Chen, Xueyu Lv, Jiliang Fang et al.
Body-mind relaxation meditation (BMRM) alters thalamocortical functional connectivity in medication-naive adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) and healthy controls. Before the intervention, MDD patients showed reduced connectivity between the bilateral precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and specific thalamus subregions, and increased connectivity between the left occipital thalamus and left medial frontal cortex. After BMRM, these aberrant connections normalized in MDD patients, and both groups showed decreased connectivity between the left rostral temporal thalamus and left inferior occipital region. These changes suggest BMRM may strengthen connections between the thalamus and default mode network, which support attention and self-related processes. The small sample size limits generalizability.