Skip to content

How Does Meditation Affect the Default Mode Network: A Systematic Review.

Dimitrios Zagkas, Flora Bacopoulou, Dimitrios Vlachakis, George P Chrousos, Christina Darviri

Advances in experimental medicine and biology 2023 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-31986-0_22 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Systematic review Peer reviewed
Sample size 853
Population Experienced and non-experienced meditators
Topics Default mode network Meditation
Keywords Functional connectivity
Key findings Meditative interventions affect the operation of the Default Mode Network and produce differences in functional connectivity between networks.

Abstract

This article provides a systematic review of studies evaluating the effect of meditation on the Default Mode Network (DMN). The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. A literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Embase was conducted up to June 2020. Search terms included default mode network or DMN and meditation.A total of 306 articles were identified, of which 16 controlled trials with a total of 853 experienced (in Mindfulness, Samatha, Raja Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, Vipassana, Insight meditation Theravada tradition) and non-experienced mediators were finally included in this systematic review. The results showed that meditative interventions affect the operation of DMN and there are differences in functional connectivity between networks. Further research should be undertaken to establish meditation as an effective intervention strategy for well-being.

Explore topics