A fMRI Study of Stages of Yoga Meditation Described in Traditional Texts
Shirley Telles, Nilkamal Singh, Kv Naveen, Singh Deepeshwar, Subramanya Pailoor, Nk Manjunath, Lija George, R. Dawn, Acharya Balkrishna
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 26 |
| Population | Right-handed meditators |
| Interventions | Focused attention Focused attention on the object of meditation Meditation with one-pointed focused attention without effort |
| Duration | Each meditation stage lasted 2 minutes |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | During the third stage of meditation (one-pointed focused attention without effort), experienced meditators alone showed significant activation in the right middle temporal cortex, right inferior frontal cortex, and left lateral orbital gyrus compared to random thinking. |
Abstract
Objectives: Meditation is described in traditional yoga texts as three stages, which follow each other in sequence: (i) Focused attention (FA), (ii) Focused attention on the object of meditation (MF), and (iii) Meditation with one-pointed focused attention without effort (ME). When not in meditation the mind is considered to be in a state of normal consciousness characterized by random thinking (RT). The objective of the present study was to determine the brain areas activated during the three stages of meditation compared to the control state using fMRI.
Methods: Functional magnetic resonance images were acquired from twenty-six right handed meditators during MF, ME and random thinking (RT) for comparison. Ten of them were experienced (average age ± SD, 37.7 ± 13.4 years; 9 males) with 6048 hours of meditation, whereas 16 (group average age ± SD, 23.5 ± 2.3 years; all males) were less experienced, with 288 hours of meditation. During the fMRI recordings the participants practiced RT, non-meditative focused thinking (FA), MF and ME, each lasting for 2 minutes. Brain areas activated during the intervention were scanned using a 3.0-Tesla Philips-MRI scanner.
Results: During the third phase of meditation (ME) the experienced meditators alone showed significant activation in the right middle temporal cortex (rMTC), right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) and left lateral orbital gyrus (LOG) (p < 0.05), Bonferroni adjusted t-tests for unpaired data, comparing ME and random thinking.
Conclusions: These changes suggest that ME is associated with sustained attention, memory, semantic cognition, creativity and an increased ability to detach mentally .
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
Cited by 5
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- A selective review of dharana and dhyana in healthy participants Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine October 1, 2016
- 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
- The Effect of Yoga Meditation Practice on Young Adults’ Inhibitory Control: An fNIRS Study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience September 13, 2021
- Understanding Meditation Based on the Subjective Experience and Traditional Goal: Implications for Current Meditation Research. Frontiers in Psychology 2019