Advanced concentrative absorption meditation reorganizes functional connectivity gradients of the brain: 7T MRI and phenomenology case study of jhana meditation.
Umay Demir, Winson Fu Zun Yang, Matthew D. Sacchet
Cerebral Cortex April 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf079 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Intensive case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Expert ACAM-J meditator |
| Intervention | ACAM-J) |
| Topics | Meditation Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Advanced meditation Brain functional connectivity Gradient analysis Neurophenomenology |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | ACAM-J disrupts the hierarchical organization of the brain by shifting gradients toward greater global integration between sensory and higher-order cognitive regions and increases differentiation between sensory and attention modulation regions. |
Abstract
There is growing scientific interest in advanced meditation, and particularly the Theravada Buddhist advanced concentrative absorption meditation known as jhana (ACAM-J). ACAM-J includes a series of eight consecutive meditative states, which are radically altered states of consciousness. The neuroscience of ACAM-J, specifically brain reorganization, remains underspecified in part due to the difficulty of finding and studying expert ACAM-J meditators and challenges related to laboratory investigation of ACAM-J. Using a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique applied to human functional neuroimaging in an intensive case study, we investigated brain reorganization during ACAM-J. We applied linear mixed models and correlations to explore relations among brain reorganization and ACAM-J phenomenology. Results demonstrated that ACAM-J induces disruption of the hierarchical organization of the brain by shifting the gradients toward a more globally integrated rather than segregated state between sensory-related and higher-order cognitive regions. Additionally, ACAM-J induces a separation between sensory-related and attention modulation-related regions, resulting in greater differentiation in functional organization of these regions, consistent with phenomenological reports. This study highlights the need for further research into brain reorganization and health-related implications of both short-term and long-term practice of ACAM-J. Key points/highlights The neuroscience of advanced concentrative absorption meditation (ACAM) has the potential to improve our knowledge of well-being and altered states of consciousness but remains underexplored due to methodological challenges. We investigated functional reorganization of the brain during ACAM-J using gradient analysis and demonstrated that ACAM-J disrupts the hierarchical organization of the brain during meditation. Additionally, we demonstrated that ACAM-J increases differentiation between primary sensory areas and areas related to attention modulation.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| How does it feel to lack a sense of boundaries? A case study of a long-term mindfulness meditator. A single long-term mindfulness practitioner (S) with 40 years of practice in... | 2015 | Qualitative case study | n = 1 |
| An extended case study on the phenomenology of sequence-space synesthesia Single adult with sequence-space synesthesia | 2014 | Phenomenological case study | n = 1 |
| "I can't tell whether it's my hand": a pilot study of the neurophenomenology of body representation during the rubber hand illusion in trauma-related disorders. Individuals with the dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | 2016 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Neurophenomenology of an Altered State of Consciousness: An fMRI Case Study. A single research participant with self-proclaimed ecstatic Kundalini meditative... | 2016 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Multimodal neurophenomenology of advanced concentration absorption meditation: An intensively sampled case study of Jhana. One advanced meditator with over 23,000 hours of meditation practice | 2024 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Mindfulness, cognition, and long-term meditators: Toward a science of advanced meditation. Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- Active inference, computational phenomenology, and advanced meditation: Toward the formalization of the experience of meditation. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 1, 2026
- Toward a neuroscience of consciousness using advanced meditation. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews February 1, 2026
- Advanced meditation, sleep, and consciousness science: An emerging frontier. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 1, 2026
- Whole-Brain Models of Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation: Approaching Critical Dynamics through Jhāna bioRxiv September 25, 2025
and 3 more in the library
Cites 24
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 5, 2021
- Acute, subacute and long-term subjective effects of psilocybin in healthy humans: a pooled analysis of experimental studies Journal of Psychopharmacology September 20, 2010
- Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology September 4, 2018
- Impact of meditation training on the default mode network during a restful state Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 24, 2012
and 19 more in the library