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.
In patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who have a responsive neurostimulation (RNS) device implanted, a meditation protocol reduced anxiety symptoms. Ten patients completed loving-kindness and focal awareness meditation sessions while intracranial recordings were taken. Pre-surgery neuropsychological tests showed elevated anxiety and depression, with frontal or frontotemporal deficits in 80% of patients. A negative correlation was found between pre-meditation anxiety and self-reported depth of meditation engagement. Across all sessions, anxiety levels decreased after meditation. The findings suggest that meditation can help manage anxiety in this population, and integrating neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric evaluations may improve treatment.
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.