A network for self-transcendence derived from patients with brain lesions
Morgan Rose Healey, Yaser Sanchez-Gama, Mengyuan Ding, James Tanner McMahon, Chase Bourbon, Rumaisa Jesani, Ginger D Atwood, Brian Lord, Jay Sanguinetti, Judson A. Brewer, David R. Vago, Shan H Siddiqi, Franco Fabbro, Cosimo Urgesi, Jared A. Nielsen, Michael A Ferguson
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) March 27, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.03.24.713239 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 88 |
| Population | Neurosurgical patients |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Brainstem Lesion Brain mapping Nerve net Neuroimaging Connectome Human brain Neuromodulation Functional connectivity Abnormality Neural activity Visual system |
| Key findings | Posterior midline hubs constrain, and brainstem and anterior midline regions facilitate, self-transcendent experience, as identified by lesion network mapping. |
Abstract
Abstract Self-transcendence, the reorientation of experience away from the self toward others, nature, or broader meaning, is a fundamental dimension of human psychology, yet its causal neural architecture remains poorly understood. Here we applied lesion network mapping to 88 neurosurgical patients with pre- and post-operative assessments of trait self-transcendence to identify the distributed brain network whose disruption alters this capacity. The resulting network showed significant spatial correspondence with the default mode network and, at a finer parcellation level, with frontoparietal control subnetworks. Leave-one-out analyses identified posterior midline regions as the most stable correlates of increased self-transcendence following brain lesions. Independent validation against fMRI meta-analyses of self-referential processing, compassion, and ketamine administration, alongside a neuromodulation target previously shown to modulate the sense of self, converged on a consistent model. These findings provide causal evidence for a network architecture in which posterior midline hubs constrain, and brainstem and anterior midline regions facilitate, self-transcendent experience.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| 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 | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cites 24
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience Review of General Psychology May 1, 2017
- Meditation leads to reduced default mode network activity beyond an active task Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience April 22, 2015
and 19 more in the library