Monitoring the neural activity of the state of mental silence while practicing Sahaja yoga meditation.
Sergio Hernández, José Suero, Katya Rubia, José L. González-mora
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine March 2015 DOI: 10.1089/acm.2013.0450 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 19 |
| Population | Experienced Sahaja yoga meditators |
| Intervention | Sahaja yoga meditation |
| Duration | Three short consecutive meditation periods |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditation began with increased activation in bilateral inferior frontal and temporal regions, which progressively declined across three consecutive meditation periods until activation localized to the right inferior frontal cortex/right insula and right middle/superior temporal cortex. Right inferior frontal activation was directly associated with the subjective depth of mental silence. The authors propose this reflects an initial intense self-control process followed by an effortless attentional contemplation. |
Abstract
To identify the neural correlates of the state of mental silence as experienced through Sahaja yoga meditation. Nineteen experienced meditators underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during three short consecutive meditation periods, contrasted with a control relaxation condition. Relative to baseline, at the beginning of the meditation sessions there was a significant increase of activation in bilateral inferior frontal and temporal regions. Activation became progressively more reduced with deeper meditation stages and in the last meditation session it became localized to the right inferior frontal cortex/ right insula and right middle/superior temporal cortex. Furthermore, right inferior frontal activation was directly associated with the subjective depth of the mental silence experience. Meditators appear to pass through an initial intense neural self-control process necessary to silence their mind. After this they experience relatively reduced brain activation concomitant with the deepening of the state of mental silence over right inferior frontal cortex, probably reflecting an effortless process of attentional contemplation associated with this state.
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
Cited by 20
- A Systematic Review of Transcendent States Across Meditation and Contemplative Traditions. Explore 2018
- What Has Neuroimaging Taught Us on the Neurobiology of Yoga? A Review Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience July 8, 2020
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- Short‐term Sahaja Yoga meditation training modulates brain structure and spontaneous activity in the executive control network Brain and Behavior November 28, 2018
- Biological mechanism study of meditation and its application in mental disorders General Psychiatry July 13, 2020
and 15 more in the library
Cites 15
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- 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
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Neural correlates of a mystical experience in Carmelite nuns Neuroscience Letters July 27, 2006
and 10 more in the library