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.
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.
Sports Medicine and Health Science
July 1, 2026
David Wing, Bart Roelands, Abraham Z. Snyder et al.
A narrative review of 30 studies examined how exercise, mindful movement, and mindfulness training affect resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the brains of non-clinical adults. Most studies reported changes in rsFC within the default mode, executive control, and salience networks. However, the largest and most methodologically rigorous study found minimal associations between rsFC and either exercise or mindfulness. Given the inconsistent results, caution is warranted in interpreting changes in rsFC attributable to these interventions. Methodological consistency in fMRI acquisition, data preparation, and analytical approaches is crucial to improve reproducibility and allow for comparison and aggregation.
Medical science educator
December 1, 2025
Geoffroy P J C Noel, Federica Klaus, Jenna Tutjer et al.
First-year medical students who participated in Compassionatomy, a program integrating compassion training into anatomy dissection labs, reported a stronger sense of connection with body donors over the academic year. Connection was higher after sessions that included compassion training than after those without it. Greater connection was linked to more positive emotional feelings but not to changes in arousal. Engagement with compassion exercises during sessions increased over time, and students practiced more contemplative exercises outside the lab in weeks following compassion training. Empathy levels remained stable across the year and were similar to those of a previous cohort that did not receive the program.