Loving-kindness meditation, which involves directing thoughts of goodwill toward oneself and others, alters neural activity in the amygdala and hippocampus. In first-time meditators with implanted brain-recording devices, the practice increased gamma-band (30 to 55 Hz) power and changed the duration of beta (13 to 30 Hz) and gamma oscillatory bursts in both regions. These changes were specific to periodic features of neural activity, not aperiodic ones. The findings suggest that even novice meditation can modulate limbic brain activity linked to emotional regulation and mood disorders.
Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) increases gamma power and alters the duration of beta and gamma oscillatory bursts in the amygdala and hippocampus of first-time meditators. These changes were specific to periodic features of neural activity, not aperiodic ones. The findings reveal how LKM modulates limbic brain activity, offering insight into the neural basis of meditation's effects on emotional regulation and well-being.
During mindfulness meditation compared with mind-wandering, gamma power (30-55 Hz) in the mesial temporal lobe (MTL) significantly decreased in non-epileptic brain tissue but not in epileptic tissue. No significant power changes occurred in epileptic MTL across any frequency band, but aperiodic components (offset, knee, exponent) differed significantly between the two states in epileptic MTL, while no such aperiodic changes appeared in non-epileptic MTL. These intracranial electrophysiological modulations suggest that gamma activity changes in non-epileptic MTL may reflect functional brain state shifts, whereas aperiodic changes in epileptic MTL may relate to seizure propensity.