Long-term mindfulness meditators exhibit increased spontaneous occurrence of brain states involving sensory and attention networks
Research Square June 26, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3038477/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional comparison of experienced meditators and meditation-naïve controls |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced mindfulness meditation practitioners and age-matched meditation-naïve control participants |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Experienced meditators at rest spent more time in two brain states involving sensory-perception regions, with a heavy emphasis on visual processing, and less time in a state involving higher cognitive and executive-control areas. The authors suggest this reflects a shift from executive control toward enhanced sensory and embodied processing, supporting the view that long-term meditation favors self-specific processes and reduces states associated with self-related executive control. |
Abstract
Abstract Interest has been growing in the use of mindfulness meditation (MM) as a therapeutic practice, as accumulating evidence highlights its potential to improve various mental functions and effectively address a range of mental conditions. Among the various hypotheses, a shift in the sense-of-self has been proposed as a possible core mechanism of MM, towards enhanced embodied cognition (related with self-specific processing), and away from narrative reflection (related with self-related processing). While fMRI studies focusing on neural activation and functional connectivity generally support this notion, the impact of MM practice on dynamic functional connectivity remains unclear. To fill this gap, in this study, the dynamics of intrinsic functional networks were compared between experienced MM practitioners and age-matched meditation-naïve control participants, to investigate the impact of long-term MM practice on the dynamic expression of resting state networks over time. Our analysis revealed that, when compared to meditation-naïve participants, experienced meditators at rest tend to spend more time in two brain states that involve cortical regions associated with sensory perception, with a heavy emphasis on visual processing. The opposite was found to occur in a brain state involving areas associated with higher cognitive functions and executive control. These findings suggest that MM might lead to a shift from an emphasis on executive control towards enhanced sensory and embodied processing. These results support the notion that long-term MM favors network states associated with self-specific processes and decrease the occurrence of states associated with self-related executive control. Overall, this study reinforces the utility of dynamical systems theory to extend current knowledge regarding the effects of MM on brain function.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 40
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
and 35 more in the library