Attention and Default Mode Network Assessments of Meditation Experience during Active Cognition and Rest.
Brain Sciences April 29, 2021 Kathryn J Devaney, Emily J Levin, Vaibhav Tripathi et al.
Experienced Vipassana meditators show stronger anticorrelation between the dorsal attention network and the default mode network during both sustained attention tasks and at rest, compared to matched controls and a larger reference dataset. This pattern, previously linked to better brain health, indicates more stable sustained attention without increased distractibility. No differences were observed between meditators and controls in an attentional reorienting task. The findings, based on functional MRI, suggest that long-term meditation practice may enhance the brain's ability to maintain focused attention by strengthening the separation between attention and default mode networks.