Focused attention meditation in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional functional MRI studies.
Saampras Ganesan, Emillie Beyer, Bradford A. Moffat, Nicholas T. van Dam, Valentina Lorenzetti, Andrew Zalesky
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews October 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104846 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Cross-sectional Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 200 |
| Population | Meditation practitioners |
| Intervention | Focused attention meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Activation likelihood estimation Focused attention Functional MRI Meta-analysis Neural correlates Neurocognitive model Systematic review |
| Key findings | Focused attention meditation consistently engages Default-mode, Salience, and Executive Control networks, with meditation expertise and mindfulness influencing activation magnitude but not regional extent. |
Abstract
Meditation trains the mind to focus attention towards an object or experience. Among different meditation techniques, focused attention meditation is considered foundational for more advanced practices. Despite renewed interest in its functional neural correlates, there is no unified neurocognitive model of focused attention meditation developed via quantitative synthesis of contemporary literature. Hence, we performed a quantitative systematic review and meta-analysis of all functional MRI studies examining focussed attention meditation. Following PRISMA guidelines, 28 studies were included in this review, of which 10 studies (200 participants) were amenable to activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. We found that regions comprising three key functional brain networks i.e., Default-mode, Salience, and Executive Control, were consistently implicated in focused attention meditation. Furthermore, meditation expertise, mindfulness levels and attentional skills were found to significantly influence the magnitude, but not regional extent, of activation and functional connectivity in these networks. Aggregating all evidence, we present a unified neurocognitive brain-network model of focused attention meditation.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 57
- Long-Term and Meditation-Specific Modulations of Brain Connectivity Revealed Through Multivariate Pattern Analysis Brain Topography March 28, 2023
- Within-subject reliability of brain networks during advanced meditation: An intensively sampled 7 Tesla MRI case study. Human Brain Mapping May 1, 2024
- Functional connectivity changes in meditators and novices during yoga nidra practice. Scientific Reports June 5, 2024
- Experienced Meditators Show Multifaceted Attention-Related Differences in Neural Activity Mindfulness October 5, 2023
- Longitudinal neurofunctional changes in medication overuse headache patients after mindfulness practice in a randomized controlled trial (the MIND-CM study). The Journal of Headache and Pain June 11, 2024
and 52 more in the library
Cites 56
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
and 51 more in the library