Mindfulness meditation changes the boundary and configuration of the primary functional networks in the brain
Shogo Kajimura, Naoki Masuda, J. K. Lau, Kou Murayama
bioRxiv June 7, 2019 preprint DOI: 10.1101/664573 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Single-case experimental design with longitudinal intensive data |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A single individual assessed repeatedly over many days |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Duration | Repeated assessment over many days |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness meditation was associated with reconfiguration of whole-brain network communities in one intensively scanned individual: front-parietal network regions merged into the default mode network, the sensory-motor network's composition changed without a size change, and front-parietal regions showed unstable community allegiance. The authors argue these structural reconfigurations may inform neural mechanisms of mindfulness and serve as a biomarker of meditation efficacy and progress. |
Abstract
Research has shown that mindfulness meditation not only improves our cognitive and motivational functioning (e.g., attention, mental health), it influences the way how our brain networks [e.g., default mode network (DMN), front-parietal network (FPN), and sensory-motor network (SMN)] function and operate. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the possibility that mindfulness meditation alters the structure (composition) of these functional brain networks. Here, using a single-case experimental design with longitudinal intensive data, we examined the effect of mindfulness mediation on intra-individual changes in the composition of whole-brain networks. The results showed that mindfulness meditation (1) changed the community size (with a number of regions in the FPN being merged into the DMN after mindfulness meditation), (2) changed the brain regions composing the SMN community without changing its size, and (3) led to instability in the community allegiance of the regions in the FPN. These results suggest that, in addition to altering specific functional connectivity, mindfulness meditation leads to reconfiguration of whole-brain network structure. The reconfiguration of community structure in the brain provides fruitful information about the neural mechanisms of mindfulness meditation. Author Summary Training to focus on present-moment experiences, i.e., mindfulness meditation, is known to produce significant beneficial outcomes, such as improved attention and mental health. It is important to understand how these beneficial effects are produced at the neural level; however, previous research investigating this question almost exclusively employed a pre-post design (i.e. assessing brain functioning only once or twice) or comparison between beginners and experts. The current study takes a fundamentally different approach ---- we repeatedly assess the brain function of a single person over many days (intensive longitudinal design) and show that mindfulness mediation significantly changes the size, composition, and variability of the brain networks that are related to sensory processing, executive control, or spontaneous thoughts and self-referential processing. These results highlight the importance of investigating intraindividual changes for understanding the neural mechanisms of mindfulness meditation and suggest that such changes may be used as a biomarker to reflect the efficacy and progress of mindfulness meditation.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations Psychological Medicine November 27, 2009
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- Effects of Meditation Experience on Functional Connectivity of Distributed Brain Networks Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
and 10 more in the library