Mindfulness Meditation Training Reshapes Somatomotor Edge-Centric Connectivity Underlying Somatic Awareness: Insights for Healthy and Depressed Individuals
Yuwen He, Shan Lei, Wangli Si, Matthew D. Sacchet, Amy Jing-Wen Yin, Wenyue Gao, An Gu, Natalia Chan, Xinyun Xiao, Jiaze Li, Jieting Chen, Mek Wong, Elvo Kuai Long Sou, Yizhong Shen, Jingju Quan, Weng Ieong Tou, Lin Ian Lio, Chia-Ying Chou, Peng Zhang, Bin Liu, Zhen Yuan
medRxiv July 29, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2025.07.29.25331685 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 86 |
| Population | Healthy and depressed adults |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation training |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness meditation Training meteorology Psychotherapist Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation training alters somatomotor network functional connectivity in both population-common and population-specific ways, and these changes predict insomnia improvements. |
Abstract
Abstract Background Somatic awareness is a fundamental practice for novice mindfulness practitioners. It has been proposed that mindfulness meditation training (MMT) enhances brain function through somatic awareness in both non-clinical and clinical populations. However, the neural signatures underlying this mechanism remain poorly understood.
Methods: In our study, we conducted mindfulness interventions in both healthy (51 subjects) and depressed (35 subjects) populations and examined whether somatomotor network (SMN)-related edge-centric functional connectivity (eFC) is modulated by MMT, uncovering the population common and population-specific functioning pathways that may underlie somatic awareness. In addition, we tested whether such SMN-related eFCs can predict the insomnia status across populations.
Results: Our findings revealed population-common eFC changes involving the SMN and attentional networks, indicating MMT may modulate the attentional system across populations via somatic awareness. Additionally, we identified population-specific eFC profiles engaging SMN-subcortical networks in the healthy population, suggesting MMT may target more pervasively the automatic processes in the healthy population. The specific eFC profile engaged SMN-default mode network interactions in the depressed population, which may be the functioning mechanism explaining MMT is efficient for depressed individuals. These findings demonstrate the differential neural signatures underlying different focuses of mindfulness via somatic awareness in different populations. Furthermore, support vector regression analysis demonstrated that these altered eFCs significantly predicted improvements in insomnia after MMT in both populations.
Conclusions: In summary, our results highlight both shared and distinct neural functioning signatures underlying mindfulness-related mental health improvements via somatic awareness in both the healthy and depressed populations.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| 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 | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 22
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2007
- Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 17 more in the library