Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity
Judson A. Brewer, Patrick D. Worhunsky, Jeremy R. Gray, Yi-Yuan Tang, Jochen Weber, Hedy Kober
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1112029108 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls |
| Interventions | Concentration Loving-Kindness Choiceless Awareness |
| Topics | Default mode network Meditation |
| Keywords | Posterior cingulate Precuneus Happiness Functional connectivity Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex Cognition Cognitive psychology Electroencephalography |
| Citations | 1,410 |
| Key findings | Experienced meditators showed deactivation of default-mode network nodes and stronger functional connectivity between self-monitoring and cognitive control regions, consistent with reduced mind-wandering. |
Abstract
Many philosophical and contemplative traditions teach that "living in the moment" increases happiness. However, the default mode of humans appears to be that of mind-wandering, which correlates with unhappiness, and with activation in a network of brain areas associated with self-referential processing. We investigated brain activity in experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls as they performed several different meditations (Concentration, Loving-Kindness, Choiceless Awareness). We found that the main nodes of the default-mode network (medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices) were relatively deactivated in experienced meditators across all meditation types. Furthermore, functional connectivity analysis revealed stronger coupling in experienced meditators between the posterior cingulate, dorsal anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (regions previously implicated in self-monitoring and cognitive control), both at baseline and during meditation. Our findings demonstrate differences in the default-mode network that are consistent with decreased mind-wandering. As such, these provide a unique understanding of possible neural mechanisms of meditation.