Enhanced amygdala-cortical functional connectivity in meditators.
Mei-Kei Leung, Chetwyn C H Chan, Jing Yin, Chack-Fan Lee, Kwok-Fai So, Tatia M C Lee
Neuroscience Letters March 17, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2015.01.052 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractMeditation experts show stronger connections between the left amygdala and brain regions involved in emotion regulation and body awareness—specifically the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, premotor cortex, and primary somatosensory cortex—when viewing positive emotional stimuli, compared to novices. This suggests that long-term meditation practice may lead to neuroplastic changes in how the brain processes positive emotions.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Meditation experts and novices |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Amygdala Anterior cingulate cortex Emotions Functional connectivity |
| Key finding | Meditation experts had significantly stronger left amygdala connectivity with the dorsal ACC, premotor, and primary somatosensory cortices during positive affective processing compared to novices. |
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that meditation is associated with neuroplastic changes in the brain regions including amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and temporal-parietal junction. Extended from these previous works, this study examined the functional connectivity of the amygdala in meditation experts during affective processing and observed that these experts had significantly stronger left amygdala (LA) connectivity with the dorsal ACC (dACC), premotor, and primary somatosensory cortices (PSC) while viewing affectively positive stimuli when compared to the novices. The current findings have implications for further understanding of affective neuroplastic changes associated with meditation in the amygdala.