Structural changes in socio‐affective networks: Multi‐modal MRI findings in long‐term meditation practitioners

Long-term meditation practitioners who had spent an average of 40,000 hours cultivating loving-kindness and compassion showed increased cortical thickness in fronto-insular brain regions compared to meditation-naïve controls. Functional MRI during a loving-kindness meditation session revealed increased brain activity in multiple prefrontal and insular areas, with partial overlap in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, suggesting these regions are central to generating emotional states relevant to the practice. These cross-sectional findings motivate future longitudinal research on brain plasticity from training aimed at enhancing altruism and prosocial motivation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

ABSTRACT Our goal was to assess the effects of long‐term mental training in socio‐affective skills on structural brain networks. We studied a group of long‐term meditation practitioners (LTMs) who have focused on cultivating socio‐affective skills using loving‐kindness and compassion meditation for an average of 40k h, comparing these to meditation‐naïve controls. To maximize homogeneity of prior practice, LTMs were included only if they had undergone extensive full‐time meditation retreats in the same center. MRI‐based cortical thickness analysis revealed increased thickness in the LTM cohort relative to meditation‐native controls in fronto‐insular cortices. To identify functional networks relevant for the generation of socio‐affective states, structural imaging analysis were complemented by fMRI analysis in LTMs, showing amplitude increases during a loving‐kindness meditation session relative to non‐meditative rest in multiple prefrontal and insular regions bilaterally. Importantly, functional findings partially overlapped with regions of cortical thickness increases in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, suggesting that these regions may play a central role in the generation of emotional states relevant for the meditative practice. Our multi‐modal MRI approach revealed structural changes in LTMs who have cultivated loving‐kindness and compassion for a significant period of their life in functional networks activated by these practices. These preliminary cross‐sectional findings motivate future longitudinal work studying brain plasticity following the regular practice of skills aiming at enhancing human altruism and prosocial motivation. HIGHLIGHTSMultimodal MRI in long‐term meditators (LTMs) and meditation‐naïve controls.Cortical thickening in LTMs vs controls in fronto‐insular regions.Overlap with fMRI amplitude increases during loving‐kindness meditation in LTMs.Findings motivate longitudinal studies addressing training‐related plasticity.