Toward a brain theory of meditation.
Progress in Brain Research January 1, 2019 A. Raffone, L. Marzetti, C. del Gratta et al.
A unified Brain Theory of Meditation (BTM) is proposed, grounded in the roles of the central executive, salience, and default mode networks and the brain's energetic limitation that only about 1% of cortical neurons can be concurrently active. The theory suggests distinct mechanisms for different meditation forms: down-regulation of brain network activities in focused attention meditation, gating and tuning of network coupling in open monitoring meditation, and state-related up-regulation in compassion and loving kindness meditation. It also advances a leftward asymmetry in top-down regulation and enhanced inter-hemispheric integration in meditation states and traits, with implications for understanding conscious access. Meditation provides a meta-function for efficient brain resource allocation, related to mindfulness.