Attention and Default Mode Network Assessments of Meditation Experience during Active Cognition and Rest.
Kathryn J Devaney, Emily J Levin, Vaibhav Tripathi, James P Higgins, Sara W. Lazar, David C Somers
Brain Sciences April 29, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050566 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced focused attention Vipassana meditators and matched controls |
| Topics | Default mode network Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognition Dorsal attention network FMRI Resting-state functional connectivity Ventral attention network |
| Key findings | Meditators showed increased magnitude of anticorrelation between dorsal attention and default mode networks during sustained attention and at rest, relative to controls. |
Abstract
Meditation experience has previously been shown to improve performance on behavioral assessments of attention, but the neural bases of this improvement are unknown. Two prominent, strongly competing networks exist in the human cortex: a dorsal attention network, that is activated during focused attention, and a default mode network, that is suppressed during attentionally demanding tasks. Prior studies suggest that strong anti-correlations between these networks indicate good brain health. In addition, a third network, a ventral attention network, serves as a "circuit-breaker" that transiently disrupts and redirects focused attention to permit salient stimuli to capture attention. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to contrast cortical network activation between experienced focused attention Vipassana meditators and matched controls. Participants performed two attention tasks during scanning: a sustained attention task and an attention-capture task. Meditators demonstrated increased magnitude of differential activation in the dorsal attention vs. default mode network in a sustained attention task, relative to controls. In contrast, there were no evident attention network differences between meditators and controls in an attentional reorienting paradigm. A resting state functional connectivity analysis revealed a greater magnitude of anticorrelation between dorsal attention and default mode networks in the meditators as compared to both our local control group and a n = 168 Human Connectome Project dataset. These results demonstrate, with both task- and rest-based fMRI data, increased stability in sustained attention processes without an associated attentional capture cost in meditators. Task and resting-state results, which revealed stronger anticorrelations between dorsal attention and default mode networks in experienced mediators than in controls, are consistent with a brain health benefit of long-term meditation practice.
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 13
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity As a Transdiagnostic Biomarker of Cognitive Function. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025
- Functional connectivity changes in meditators and novices during yoga nidra practice. Scientific Reports June 5, 2024
- Alterations in Functional Connectivity Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Relationship With Heart Rate Variability in Subjects After Performing Orgasmic Meditation: An Exploratory Study Frontiers in Psychology November 11, 2021
- Exploring neural markers of dereification in meditation based on EEG and personalized models of electrophysiological brain states. Scientific Reports October 16, 2024
and 8 more in the library
Cites 24
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Default Mode Network Activity and Connectivity in Psychopathology Annual Review of Clinical Psychology March 29, 2012
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
and 19 more in the library