4 papers in the library · 6 citations · publishing 2023-2026
bioRxiv Preprint Server December 6, 2023 Sébastien Czajko, Jelle Zorn, Loïc Daumail et al. 5 citations preprint
Short mindfulness-based interventions improve well-being, cognition, and clinical symptoms, but they are considered early steps on a longer transformative path that may produce lasting trait changes. Little is known about the brain correlates of these meditation traits.
February 7, 2024 Sébastien Czajko 1 citation
Long-term mindfulness meditation practice alters the brain's structural and functional connectivity, particularly within large-scale networks involved in cognitive and emotional regulation. Using advanced neuroimaging and diffusion embedding, this thesis maps connectivity changes in experienced meditators compared to novices, revealing distinct neural organization linked to enhanced emotion regulation and cognition. It also identifies unique neural signatures for different meditative states (open presence, loving-kindness/compassion) versus rest, and suggests that prolonged practice induces lasting changes in functional brain architecture, ultimately shaping how personal experience molds core neurological structures.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) July 3, 2026 Sébastien Czajko, Jelle Zorn, Oussama Abdoun et al.
Nondual meditation, specifically Open Presence (OP) practice, is associated with reduced bodily self susceptibility and increased large-scale integration of functional brain networks. Expert meditators with over 10,000 hours of practice showed lower global network eccentricity during OP compared to novices, particularly in dorsal attention, ventral attention, and frontoparietal networks, indicating greater integration. These neural patterns correlated positively with measures of bodily self illusion and negatively with cognitive defusion, a construct reflecting reduced self-grasping toward thoughts. The findings suggest that nondual awareness involves alterations in self-representation and large-scale functional brain integration.
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science November 1, 2024 Sébastien Czajko, Jelle Zorn, Loïc Daumail et al.
Long-term Buddhist practitioners show distinct, enduring patterns of large-scale brain functional connectivity that are present whether they are meditating or resting, indicating that meditation expertise produces trait-like neural changes. Comparing 28 expert meditators with 47 matched novices, a machine-learning classifier successfully decoded expertise from brain scans taken during both meditative and nonmeditative states. The experts' brains exhibited greater integration across multiple networks, including those involved in attention, emotion, body awareness, and cognitive control. This increased integration correlated with a stronger ability to create psychological distance from thoughts and emotions, suggesting that meditation cultivates an embodied cognition that persists beyond formal practice.