Reconfiguration of Electroencephalography Microstate Networks after Breath-Focused, Digital Meditation Training.
Lucie Bréchet, David A Ziegler, Alexander J. Simon, Denis Brunet, Adam Gazzaley, Christoph M. Michel
Brain Connectivity March 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2020.0848 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Young adults |
| Interventions | breath-focused digital meditation training |
| Duration | 6-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | EEG Microstates EEG Source Localization Attention Bodily self-consciousness Meditation training |
| Key findings | Six weeks of breath-focused, digital meditation training led to topographical changes in resting-state EEG microstates, suggesting reorganization of brain network connectivity, which were not observed in an active placebo control group. |
Abstract
Sustained attention and working memory were improved in young adults after they engaged in a recently developed, closed-loop, digital meditation practice. Whether this type of meditation also has a sustained effect on dominant resting-state networks is currently unknown. In this study, we examined the resting brain states before and after a period of breath-focused, digital meditation training versus placebo using an electroencephalography (EEG) microstate approach. We found topographical changes in postmeditation rest, compared with baseline rest, selectively for participants who were actively involved in the meditation training and not in participants who engaged with an active, expectancy-match, placebo control paradigm. Our results suggest a reorganization of brain network connectivity after 6 weeks of intensive meditation training in brain areas, mainly including the right insula, the superior temporal gyrus, the superior parietal lobule, and the superior frontal gyrus bilaterally. These findings provide an opening for the development of a novel noninvasive treatment of neuropathological states by low-cost, breath-focused, digital meditation practice, which can be monitored by the EEG microstate approach.