The Longitudinal Effect of Meditation on Resting-State Functional Connectivity Using Dynamic Arterial Spin Labeling: A Feasibility Study.
Zongpai Zhang, Wen-Ming Luh, Wenna Duan, Tony D Zhou, Li Zhao, George Weinschenk, Adam K. Anderson, Weiying Dai
Brain Sciences September 24, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101263 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA novel MRI technique called dynamic arterial spin labeling (dASL) detected changes in resting-state functional connectivity after two months of focused attention meditation practice in ten novice meditators. Meditation practice caused increased connectivity between the left medial temporal seed and precuneus, and between the right frontal eye seed and medial prefrontal cortex. More practice time was linked to increased connectivity between the default mode network and dorsal attention network, and between the default mode network and insula, but decreased connectivity between the default mode network and frontoparietal control network, and between the dorsal attention network and visual regions. These findings suggest focused attention meditation strengthens efficient control of the frontoparietal control network for switching between the default mode and dorsal attention networks, and reduces focus on visual processing.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Longitudinal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Novice meditators |
| Intervention | Focused attention meditation |
| Duration | 2-month follow-up |
| Topics | Default mode network Meditation |
| Keywords | Arterial spin labeling Dorsal attention network Functional connectivity |
| Key finding | Two-month focused attention meditation practice caused significantly increased resting-state functional connectivity between the left medial temporal seed and precuneus area and between the right frontal eye seed and medial prefrontal cortex, with practice time associated with connectivity changes between several brain networks. |
Abstract
We aimed to assess whether dynamic arterial spin labeling (dASL), a novel quantitative MRI technique with minimal contamination of subject motion and physiological noises, could detect the longitudinal effect of focused attention meditation (FAM) on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). A total of 10 novice meditators who recorded their FAM practice time were scanned at baseline and at the 2-month follow-up. Two-month meditation practice caused significantly increased rsFC between the left medial temporal (LMT) seed and precuneus area and between the right frontal eye (RFE) seed and medial prefrontal cortex. Meditation practice time was found to be positively associated with longitudinal changes of rsFC between the default mode network (DMN) and dorsal attention network (DAN), between DMN and insula, and between DAN and the frontoparietal control network (FPN) but negatively associated with changes of rsFC between DMN and FPN, and between DAN and visual regions. These findings demonstrate the capability of dASL in identifying the FAM-induced rsFC changes and suggest that the practice of FAM can strengthen the efficient control of FPN on fast switching between DMN and DAN and enhance the utilization of attentional resources with reduced focus on visual processing.