Increases in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and decreases the rostral prefrontal cortex activation after-8 weeks of focused attention based mindfulness meditation.
Barbara Tomasino, Franco Fabbro
Brain and Cognition February 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2015.12.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Initially naïve adult cohort |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-oriented focused attention meditation training |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Mindfulness meditation Prefrontal cortex FMRI |
| Key points | An 8-week mindfulness training increased activation in the right dorsolateral PFC and left caudate/anterior insula and decreased activation in the rostral PFC and right parietal area 3b during focused attention meditation compared to rest. |
Abstract
Mindfulness meditation is a form of attention control training. The training exercises the ability to repeatedly focus attention. We addressed the activation changes related to an 8-weeks mindfulness-oriented focused attention meditation training on an initially naïve subject cohort. Before and after training participants underwent an fMRI experiment, thus, although not strictly a cross over design, they served as their internal own control. During fMRI they exercised focused attention on breathing and body scan as compared to resting. We found increased and decreased activation in different parts of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by comparing pre- vs. post-mindfulness training (MT) during breathing and body scan meditation exercises that were compared against their own resting state. In the post-MT (vs. pre-MT) meditation increased activation in the right dorsolateral PFC and in the left caudate/anterior insula and decreased activation in the rostral PFC and right parietal area 3b. Thus a brief mindfulness training caused increased activation in areas involved in sustaining and monitoring the focus of attention (dorsolateral PFC), consistent with the aim of mindfulness that is exercising focused attention mechanisms, and in the left caudate/anterior insula involved in attention and corporeal awareness and decreased activation in areas part of the "default mode" network and is involved in mentalizing (rostral PFC), consistent with the ability trained by mindfulness of reducing spontaneous mind wandering.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 63
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- A distinction between two instruments measuring dispositional mindfulness and the correlations between those measurements and the neuroanatomical structure Scientific Reports July 18, 2017
- The effect of a mindfulness-based stress intervention on neurobiological and symptom measures in adolescents with early life stress: a randomized feasibility study BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies April 15, 2021
- Co-emergence Reinforcement and Its Relevance to Interoceptive Desensitization in Mindfulness and Therapies Aiming at Transdiagnostic Efficacy Frontiers in Psychology December 22, 2020
and 58 more in the library
Cites 32
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
and 27 more in the library