Augmenting brain function with meditation: can detachment coincide with empathy?
Shirley Telles, Nilkamal Singh, Acharya Balkrishna
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience October 8, 2015 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00141 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The authors argue that different meditation techniques produce distinct neural activity during sustained attention and emotion processing. They propose that detachment and empathy may coexist through a circuit involving the dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortex connected via the amygdala, while noting that no study has yet tested this coexistence or determined the pathway. |
Abstract
These findings showed that different meditations are associated with distinct neural activity during sustained attention and processing emotions. Hence, meditation causes changes in parts of the brain and modifies brain activity, in distinct ways based on the meditation technique. To our knowledge no study has checked whether detachment and empathy can co-exist as a result of meditation; and the pathway has not been determined. The dorsal MPFC showed increased activation associated with mental activity during introspection (Gusnard et al., 2001), which is believed to lead to detachment (Raichle et al., 2001). The ventral MPFC has been associated with cognitive empathy (Shamay-Tsoory, 2011). The ventral and dorsal MPFC are functionally connected via the amygdala (Kim et al., 2011). It is speculated that this neural circuit, involving the dorsal and ventral MPFC and the amygdala, a circuit which could be the basis for simultaneous detachment and empathy. It hence appears that detachment and empathy are associated with activation in closely connected areas of the brain.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Distinct Neural Activity Associated with Focused-Attention Meditation and Loving-Kindness Meditation PLoS One August 15, 2012
- A neurocognitive model of meditation based on activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. Consciousness and Cognition March 2012
and 1 more in the library