Meditation and the brain: attention, control and emotion.
Mens Sana Monographs January 1, 2011 Gabriel José Corrêa Mograbi
A philosophical and technical analysis of neuroimaging studies on two types of meditation—one-pointed concentration and compassion meditation—compares brain activity and connectivity between novice and expert practitioners. For one-pointed concentration, increased attention and concentration correlate with decreased activity in brain areas related to discursive thought and emotion. For compassion meditation, the limbic circuitry is important for emotion sharing. The conclusion identifies a common structure underlying how emotion is handled in these different meditative practices.