Disentangling the neural mechanisms involved in Hinduism- and Buddhism-related meditations.
Barbara Tomasino, Alberto Chiesa, Franco Fabbro
Brain and Cognition October 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2014.03.013 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Buddhism |
| Keywords | Default system Executive attention Superior medial gyrus Yoga |
| Key findings | The authors report that Buddhist-inspired meditation was associated with frontal-lobe activations linked to executive attention, while Hinduism-inspired meditation was associated with a left-lateralized network including the postcentral gyrus, superior parietal lobe, hippocampus, and right middle cingulate cortex. They argue this anterior-posterior dissociation supports the view that different meditation styles and traditions have different neural activation patterns. |
Abstract
The most diffuse forms of meditation derive from Hinduism and Buddhism spiritual traditions. Different cognitive processes are set in place to reach these meditation states. According to an historical-philological hypothesis (Wynne, 2009) the two forms of meditation could be disentangled. While mindfulness is the focus of Buddhist meditation reached by focusing sustained attention on the body, on breathing and on the content of the thoughts, reaching an ineffable state of nothigness accompanied by a loss of sense of self and duality (Samadhi) is the main focus of Hinduism-inspired meditation. It is possible that these different practices activate separate brain networks. We tested this hypothesis by conducting an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. The network related to Buddhism-inspired meditation (16 experiments, 263 subjects, and 96 activation foci) included activations in some frontal lobe structures associated with executive attention, possibly confirming the fundamental role of mindfulness shared by many Buddhist meditations. By contrast, the network related to Hinduism-inspired meditation (8 experiments, 54 activation foci and 66 subjects) triggered a left lateralized network of areas including the postcentral gyrus, the superior parietal lobe, the hippocampus and the right middle cingulate cortex. The dissociation between anterior and posterior networks support the notion that different meditation styles and traditions are characterized by different patterns of neural activation.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zen Meditation: An Integration of Current Evidence | 2009 | Systematic review | |
| Wisdom-Based Buddhist-Derived Meditation Practices for Prosocial Behaviour: A Systematic Review Participants in mindfulness-based interventions incorporating Buddhist wisdom practices | 2024 | Systematic review | n = 2,185 |
| A systematic review and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of fMRI studies on arousing or wake-promoting effects in Buddhist meditation | 2023 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| Effects of Buddhist Walking Meditation, Walking Meditation or Mindful Walking on the Health of Adults and Older Adults: A Systematic Review Adults and older adults | 2025 | Systematic review | |
| A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of Buddhist meditation intervention programs Participants in Buddhist meditation intervention studies from KCI-indexed or... | 2026 | Meta-analysis | n = 6,366 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 45
- The Meditative Mind: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of MRI Studies BioMed Research International 2015
- Future directions in meditation research: Recommendations for expanding the field of contemplative science PLoS One November 7, 2018
- A Systematic Review of Transcendent States Across Meditation and Contemplative Traditions. Explore 2018
- Evaluating Mindfulness Meditation Apps April 20, 2018
- Ability to Gain Control Over One’s Own Brain Activity and its Relation to Spiritual Practice: A Multimodal Imaging Study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience May 24, 2017
and 40 more in the library
Cites 30
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- 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
and 25 more in the library