Psychiatry Research
January 14, 2020
Clemens C C Bauer, Kana Okano, Satrajit Ghosh et al.
87 citations
Auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia are linked to overactivity and hyperconnectivity in the default mode network and reduced anticorrelation with the central executive network. Patients were trained with real-time fMRI neurofeedback and meditation strategies to modulate these networks. The intervention reduced default mode network hyperconnectivity and increased anticorrelation between the default mode and central executive networks. Changes in individual default mode network connectivity correlated with reductions in auditory hallucination frequency and severity. This provides the first empirical evidence that meditation-enhanced neurofeedback can directly alter resting state network activity and reduce auditory hallucinations.
Molecular Psychiatry
June 1, 2023
Jiahe Zhang, Jovicarole Raya, Francesca Morfini et al.
65 citations
Adolescents with a lifetime history of depression or anxiety (n = 9) participated in a proof-of-concept study using personalized mindfulness-based fMRI neurofeedback to reduce default mode network hyperconnectivity, a neural mechanism linked to depressive symptoms. After a resting state fMRI localizer to map each adolescent's default mode and central executive networks, a brief mindfulness training and neurofeedback session followed. The neurofeedback successfully engaged the target brain state, with participants spending more time with default mode network activation lower than central executive network activation. Within-default mode network connectivity decreased in all nine adolescents, correlating with increased state mindfulness after the session. Reduced within-default mode network connectivity mediated the link between better neurofeedback performance and increased state mindfulness, suggesting this non-invasive method can modulate networks involved in adolescent depression.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Kannammai Pichappan, Jude Hammoud et al.
35 citations
Greater trait mindfulness, measured by self-report scales, is consistently linked with reduced amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli, increased cortical thickness in frontal and insular regions, and decreased connectivity within the default-mode network, converging with findings from intervention studies and mindfulness experts. However, associations with EEG metrics and between-network resting-state fMRI remain inconclusive. The authors recommend larger samples, multivariate approaches, and careful reliability testing, urging a move away from simplistic explanations of mindfulness and brain function.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Vaibhav Tripathi, Ishaan Batta, Andre Zamani et al.
23 citations
The default mode network (DMN) is linked to self-referential thinking, memory, and goal-directed cognition. Its functional connectivity with frontoparietal networks involved in attention and executive control may indicate cognitive health. This review examines DMN connectivity metrics as potential biomarkers across states like attention, mind wandering, and meditation, and in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and ADHD. It also addresses the reliability of network estimation and offers recommendations for using functional connectivity measures as biomarkers of cognitive health.
BMC Psychiatry
October 17, 2023
Paul A Bloom, David Pagliaccio, Jiahe Zhang et al.
17 citations
Adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) may benefit from a non-invasive technique that combines mindfulness with real-time fMRI neurofeedback (mbNF) to reduce activity in the default mode network (DMN), a brain network linked to rumination. In a planned trial, 90 adolescents aged 13–18 with MDD will be randomly assigned to receive either 15 or 30 minutes of mbNF. During the procedure, participants practice mindfulness while a ball on a screen moves based on their brain activity, targeting the frontoparietal network relative to the DMN. The study will test whether mbNF reduces functional connectivity within the DMN and whether longer dosing produces greater effects, with secondary outcomes including changes in depressive symptoms and rumination.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Ruchika S Prakash, Anita Shankar, Vaibhav Tripathi et al.
13 citations
Network neuroscience examines brain organization by mapping connections between its elements. This review describes how mindfulness meditation may alter structural and functional brain networks. Although evidence is preliminary, studies suggest mindfulness shifts connector hubs—the anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and mid-insula—and reduces intraconnectivity within the default mode network. Global connectivity findings are mixed. The authors call for rigorous study designs, open science, and diverse samples to better understand mindfulness's impact on brain networks.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Hilary A Marusak, Alexandra Decker et al.
7 citations
A significant finding reveals that adolescents with higher trait mindfulness experience lower anxiety and depression symptoms. An analysis of 106 adolescents, ages 12 to 15, identified a reliable brain state characterized by hyperconnectivity, showing an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.65. This state, marked by elevated positive connectivity between networks, was positively correlated with self-reported trait mindfulness. While most dynamic brain states were unreliable across scans, this hyperconnected state may reflect enhanced awareness and arousal in those exhibiting higher mindfulness traits.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
September 15, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Keara D Greene, Zia Bajwa et al.
7 citations
preprint
A systematic review of EEG and fMRI studies combining mindfulness meditation with neurofeedback found that fMRI studies primarily aimed to downregulate the default-mode network (DMN). Although decreases in DMN activations were observed during neurofeedback, there is a lack of evidence for transfer effects, and most studies lacked adequate controls such as sham neurofeedback, so DMN decreases may be confounded by general task-related deactivation. EEG studies most robustly supported modulation of theta band activity. Both EEG and fMRI mindfulness-based neurofeedback have been implemented with high fidelity in clinical populations, but mental health benefits have not been established. The review recommends sham-controlled RCTs and clear reporting using CRED-NF guidelines.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Fernando A Barrios, Ishaan Batta et al.
6 citations
Meditation practices, which have shown therapeutic benefits for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, have been studied with neuroimaging over the past decade. However, existing neuroscientific models are based on small, heterogeneous datasets, limiting generalizability and replicability. The ENIGMA-Meditation consortium is the first worldwide collaborative effort to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of globally distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and address multidomain heterogeneity in meditation practice types, experience, and experimental design. The consortium will generate rigorous neuroscientific insights into the mechanisms underlying meditation's therapeutic effects on psychological and cognitive attributes.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Clemens C C Bauer, Daniel A Atad, Norman A. S. Farb et al.
3 citations
The observer effect—the idea that observing a phenomenon changes it—is often seen as a problem to control, but this paper argues it should be actively studied and used. Mindfulness practices, which cultivate present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness, are proposed as a way to account for and intentionally harness this effect. In research, mindfulness training may help participants give more precise self-reports by reducing reactive biases. Evidence suggests mindfulness improves interoceptive awareness and reduces automatic judgment, potentially increasing measurement validity. Clinically, therapies often aim to make unconscious patterns observable; mindfulness cultivates meta-awareness, allowing individuals to observe cravings or anxiety without reactivity, facilitating psychological change. The paper proposes developing an observer-effect index to code observer influence.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
July 4, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Hilary A Marusak, Alexandra Decker et al.
3 citations
preprint
A highly reliable brain state linked to trait mindfulness was identified in adolescents, highlighting its potential role in mental health. In a study of 106 participants aged 12 to 15, one hyperconnected state showed good reliability (ICC=0.65) and correlated positively with self-reported trait mindfulness. Adolescents exhibiting higher trait mindfulness experienced lower anxiety and depression symptoms. While most dynamic brain states were unreliable across scans, this particular state suggests that increased mindfulness may enhance awareness and arousal, offering insights into adolescent mental well-being.
April 8, 2024
Saampras Ganesan, Aki Tsuchiyagaito, Greg J Siegle et al.
2 citations
preprint
Meditation practices, which have been adapted into manualized interventions for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, show therapeutic promise, but their neuroscientific basis remains unclear. Current neuroimaging studies rely on small, heterogeneous datasets that vary in practice types, participant experience, clinical targets, and imaging methods, limiting generalizability and replicability. To address this, the ENIGMA-Meditation consortium was formed as a global collaboration to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and rigorously characterize the neural mechanisms underlying meditation's effects on psychological and cognitive attributes, advancing the field of contemplative neuroscience.
April 14, 2024
Vaibhav Tripathi, Ishaan Batta, Andre Zamani et al.
preprint
The default mode network (DMN) supports self-referential thinking, memory, and understanding others. Its functional connectivity with frontoparietal and dorsal attention networks is anti-correlated: when attention turns outward, the DMN deactivates. This switching between internal and external modes, mediated by salience networks, may indicate cognitive health. Resting-state fMRI enables large-scale datasets for standardized connectivity benchmarks. This review examines DMN connectivity metrics as potential biomarkers of cognitive state in attention, mind wandering, meditation, and clinical conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD. It also addresses reliability issues and offers recommendations for using connectivity measures as biomarkers of cognitive health.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
October 1, 2025
Clemens C C Bauer, Jiahe Zhang, Francesca Morfini et al.
Auditory hallucinations affect 60-80% of schizophrenia patients and often resist antipsychotic treatment. This randomized, sham-controlled trial tested whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback targeting the superior temporal gyrus, combined with mindfulness meditation, produces specific neural changes beyond placebo. Twenty-three adults with medication-resistant hallucinations practiced mindfulness meditation while receiving neurofeedback from either the superior temporal gyrus or motor cortex. Both groups reported reduced hallucinations after neurofeedback, with no group differences in symptom reduction. However, real neurofeedback produced greater reductions in secondary auditory cortex activation and connectivity between auditory cortex and cognitive control regions (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate), which persisted in a crossover condition. Mindfulness meditation independently reduced primary auditory cortex activation. Region-specific neurofeedback targeting modulates auditory-cognitive control networks, potentially restoring the balance between bottom-up sensory processing and top-down control.
2023 11th International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction Workshops and Demos
September 10, 2023
Clemens C C Bauer, Jiahe Zhang, Margaret Niznikiewicz et al.
Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NF) may offer a way to alter specific, individualized brain systems underlying mental health conditions, addressing a gap where few therapies can change such patterns. Two recent studies from the authors' group suggest this technique is a potential treatment: one for auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia patients, and another for teenagers with a history of affective disorders. The approach aims to overcome methodological issues and lack of specificity that have hindered neurofeedback's acceptance in mental health.
eNeuro
January 1, 2021
Ana Y Martínez, Athena Demertzi, Clemens C C Bauer et al.
Focused attention on spontaneous body sensations requires interoceptive abilities and is impaired in disorders like illness-anxiety disorder. Fifteen experienced meditators performed a 20-minute attentional task to spontaneous sensations during fMRI scanning, with resting-state scans before and after the task. Dynamic functional connectivity and k-means clustering identified five recurring connectivity patterns across the dorsal attention, default mode, and frontoparietal networks. Subjects spent more time in a low-connectivity pattern during rest and more time in complex patterns during the task. A carry-over effect in connectivity after the task suggests an active role in learning from cognitive training. Focused attention to interoception involves a distinct dynamic brain organization compared to rest.
Behavioral Neuroscience
December 1, 2019
Clemens C C Bauer, Camila Caballero, Ethan Scherer et al.
Mindfulness training in middle-school children reduces stress and alters brain function. Forty children were randomly assigned to eight weeks of mindfulness or coding training. Before training, higher stress was linked to greater right amygdala activity when viewing fearful faces. After training, children who learned mindfulness reported lower stress and showed reduced right amygdala response to fearful faces, along with stronger connectivity between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These brain changes occurred outside of meditation, suggesting the benefits generalize. The findings indicate that mindfulness can be integrated into school curricula and that its stress-reducing effects involve dampening amygdala reactions to negative stimuli.