Neural Plasticity
January 1, 2016
Chuan-Chih Yang, Alfonso Barrós‐loscertales, Daniel Pinazo et al.
284 citations
Forty days of mindfulness meditation training in 13 novice meditators altered functional connectivity in brain networks linked to self-referential thought and emotion regulation. During meditation, internal consistency increased in the precuneus and temporoparietal junction but decreased in frontal regions, and connectivity between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula was reduced. After training, resting-state connectivity between the pregenual anterior cingulate and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex decreased. Participants also reported significantly reduced depression and anxiety scores. These results suggest that meditation may produce antidepressant effects through neuroplastic changes in brain networks underlying affective disorders.
Neural Plasticity
December 18, 2018
Anna Lardone, Marianna Liparoti, Pierpaolo Sorrentino et al.
72 citations
Long-term Vipassana meditation practice is associated with changes in brain network organization. Using magnetoencephalography to compare meditators with non-meditators, the study found topological modifications in functional resting-state brain networks. In the theta frequency band, meditators showed a statistically significantly higher degree—a measure of connectivity—in the right hippocampus compared to controls. Given the hippocampus's role in memory and its involvement in Alzheimer's disease, the findings suggest meditation could contribute to preventive strategies against age-related cognitive decline.
Neural Plasticity
January 1, 2015
Annie J. Xu, Mark J. Niciu, Nancy B. Lundin et al.
27 citations
Ketamine and lithium both inhibit an enzyme called glycogen synthase kinase 3, and in rodents they show synergistic antidepressant-like effects at low doses. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 36 patients with treatment-resistant bipolar depression maintained on either lithium or valproate received a single 0.5 mg/kg ketamine infusion. Both groups showed significant improvement in depressive symptoms on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, but there was no statistically significant difference between the mood stabilizer groups. Serum levels of lithium or valproate did not correlate with ketamine's antidepressant effects. The results suggest that lithium may not enhance ketamine's antidepressant efficacy in this population.
Neural Plasticity
January 1, 2022
Ming-Hao Yang, Zhi-Peng Guo, Xue-Yu Lv et al.
Rumination, a common symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), may be regulated by a body-mind relaxation meditation induction (BMRMI) intervention through changes in brain connectivity. In 25 people with MDD and 24 healthy controls, resting-state fMRI showed that at baseline, those with MDD had stronger functional connectivity between the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and right superior frontal gyrus than controls. After the intervention, the MDD group showed weaker connectivity between the left dACC and right middle frontal gyrus, while controls showed enhanced connectivity in the right dACC region. The strength of right dACC-right superior frontal gyrus connectivity correlated positively with rumination scores across all participants at baseline. These findings suggest BMRMI may alter self-referential and cognitive processing by modulating dACC connectivity in MDD with rumination.
Neural Plasticity
November 23, 2020
Yan Cui, Qiao Chen, Yang Xia et al.
The default-mode network (DMN) in rats contains three coactive micropattern (CAMP) networks that show greater functional connectivity and efficiency than the original DMN structure across all states of consciousness. In the waking state, these three networks do not differ significantly in connectivity or network properties, but in two sleep states they exhibit distinct characteristics, suggesting each plays a specific role. Changes in the CAMP networks' connectivity and properties mirror those of the original DMN, indicating that different states of consciousness intrinsically affect DMN dynamics. These findings deepen understanding of how DMN functional connectivity alters during the sleep-wake cycle.
Neural Plasticity
May 22, 2013
Michael R. Hagerty, Julian Isaacs, Leigh Brasington et al.
The first neural recordings during the ecstatic meditative states called jhanas show that the extreme joy reported by an experienced meditator is associated with activation of the nucleus accumbens in the brain's dopamine/opioid reward system, along with changes in 10 other brain regions. These brain changes occurred promptly after entering jhana. The findings demonstrate an apparently novel method of self-stimulating a brain reward system using only internal mental processes, as three possible external mechanisms were tested and rejected.