Atypical Anxiety-Related Amygdala Reactivity and Functional Connectivity in Sant Mat Meditation
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience December 4, 2018 Chenyi Chen, Yu-Chun Chen, Kuan-Ling Chen et al.
Sant Mat meditators, who practice loving-kindness meditation and follow a vegetarian diet and alcohol-restricted lifestyle, showed lower anxiety scores and distinct amygdala responses compared to novices. Meditators had stronger amygdala reactivity to explicit happy faces than fearful ones, while novices showed the opposite pattern. Amygdala reactivity was reduced in meditators for both implicit fear and happiness. Greater lifetime meditation practice was linked to lower anxiety and weaker amygdala response to fear. Meditators also exhibited stronger positive connectivity between the amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for explicit happiness, and more negative connectivity with the insula and medial orbitofrontal cortex for explicit fear. Amygdala reactivity mediated the relationship between meditation experience and trait anxiety.