Meditation leads to reduced default mode network activity beyond an active task
Kathleen A. Garrison, Thomas Zeffiro, Dustin Scheinost, R. Todd Constable, Judson A. Brewer
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience April 22, 2015 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-015-0358-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Meditators and controls |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Topics | Default mode network Meditation |
| Citations | 309 |
| Key findings | Meditation is associated with reduced default mode network activity relative to an active task in meditators compared to controls. |
Abstract
Meditation has been associated with relatively reduced activity in the default mode network, a brain network implicated in self-related thinking and mind wandering. However, previous imaging studies have typically compared meditation to rest, despite other studies having reported differences in brain activation patterns between meditators and controls at rest. Moreover, rest is associated with a range of brain activation patterns across individuals that has only recently begun to be better characterized. Therefore, in this study we compared meditation to another active cognitive task, both to replicate the findings that meditation is associated with relatively reduced default mode network activity and to extend these findings by testing whether default mode activity was reduced during meditation, beyond the typical reductions observed during effortful tasks. In addition, prior studies had used small groups, whereas in the present study we tested these hypotheses in a larger group. The results indicated that meditation is associated with reduced activations in the default mode network, relative to an active task, for meditators as compared to controls. Regions of the default mode network showing a Group × Task interaction included the posterior cingulate/precuneus and anterior cingulate cortex. These findings replicate and extend prior work indicating that the suppression of default mode processing may represent a central neural process in long-term meditation, and they suggest that meditation leads to relatively reduced default mode processing beyond that observed during another active cognitive task.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 176
- Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology September 4, 2018
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
- Resting-state fMRI functional connectivity and mindfulness in clinical and non-clinical contexts: A review and synthesis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews February 22, 2022
- The brain on silent: mind wandering, mindful awareness, and states of mental tranquility Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 1, 2016
- The neuroscience of meditation: classification, phenomenology, correlates, and mechanisms. Progress in Brain Research 2019
and 171 more in the library
Cites 14
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Impact of meditation training on the default mode network during a restful state Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience March 24, 2012
and 9 more in the library