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Dagnino PC, Galadí JA, Càmara E, Deco G, Escrichs A. Inducing a meditative state by artificial perturbations: A mechanistic understanding of brain dynamics underlying meditation. Netw Neurosci 2024; 8:517-540. [PMID: 38952817 PMCID: PMC11168722 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Contemplative neuroscience has increasingly explored meditation using neuroimaging. However, the brain mechanisms underlying meditation remain elusive. Here, we implemented a mechanistic framework to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of expert meditators during meditation and rest, and controls during rest. We first applied a model-free approach by defining a probabilistic metastable substate (PMS) space for each condition, consisting of different probabilities of occurrence from a repertoire of dynamic patterns. Moreover, we implemented a model-based approach by adjusting the PMS of each condition to a whole-brain model, which enabled us to explore in silico perturbations to transition from resting-state to meditation and vice versa. Consequently, we assessed the sensitivity of different brain areas regarding their perturbability and their mechanistic local-global effects. Overall, our work reveals distinct whole-brain dynamics in meditation compared to rest, and how transitions can be induced with localized artificial perturbations. It motivates future work regarding meditation as a practice in health and as a potential therapy for brain disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Clara Dagnino
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier A. Galadí
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Gustavo Deco
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avancats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anira Escrichs
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
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Newberg AB, Wintering NA, Hriso C, Vedaei F, Gottfried S, Ross R. Neuroimaging evaluation of the long term impact of a novel paired meditation practice on brain function. FRONTIERS IN NEUROIMAGING 2024; 3:1368537. [PMID: 38915737 PMCID: PMC11194388 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2024.1368537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Background A growing number of advanced neuroimaging studies have compared brain structure and function in long term meditators to non-meditators. The goal is to determine if there may be long term effects on the brain from practicing meditation. In this paper, we present new data on the long term effects of a novel meditation practice in which the focus is on clitoral stimulation. The findings from such a study have implications for potential therapeutic uses with regard to various neurological or psychiatric conditions. Methods We evaluated the cerebral glucose metabolism in 40 subjects with an extended history (>1 year of practice, 2-3 times per week) performing the meditation practice called Orgasmic Meditation (OM) and compared their brains to a group of non-meditating healthy controls (N = 19). Both meditation and non-meditation subjects underwent brain PET after injection with 148 to 296 MBq of FDG using a standard imaging protocol. Resting FDG PET scans of the OM group were compared to the resting scans of healthy, non-meditating, controls using statistical parametric mapping. Results The OM group showed significant differences in metabolic activity at rest compared to the controls. Specifically, there was significantly lower metabolism in select areas of the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, as well as the anterior cingulate, insula, and thalamus, in the OM group compared to the controls. In addition, there were notable distinctions between the males and females with the females demonstrating significantly lower metabolism in the thalamus and insula. Conclusions Overall, these findings suggest that the long term meditation practitioners of OM have different patterns of resting brain metabolism. Since these areas of the brain in which OM practitioners differ from controls are involved in cognition, attention, and emotional regulation, such findings have implications for understanding how this meditation practice might affect practitioners over long periods of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Newberg
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nancy A. Wintering
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Chloe Hriso
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Faezeh Vedaei
- Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sara Gottfried
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Reneita Ross
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Fialoke S, Tripathi V, Thakral S, Dhawan A, Majahan V, Garg R. Functional connectivity changes in meditators and novices during yoga nidra practice. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12957. [PMID: 38839877 PMCID: PMC11153538 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63765-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Yoga nidra (YN) practice aims to induce a deeply relaxed state akin to sleep while maintaining heightened awareness. Despite the growing interest in its clinical applications, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying neural correlates of the practice of YN remains largely unexplored. In this fMRI investigation, we aim to discover the differences between wakeful resting states and states attained during YN practice. The study included individuals experienced in meditation and/or yogic practices, referred to as 'meditators' (n = 30), and novice controls (n = 31). The GLM analysis, based on audio instructions, demonstrated activation related to auditory cues without concurrent default mode network (DMN) deactivation. DMN seed based functional connectivity (FC) analysis revealed significant reductions in connectivity among meditators during YN as compared to controls. We did not find differences between the two groups during the pre and post resting state scans. Moreover, when DMN-FC was compared between the YN state and resting state, meditators showed distinct decoupling, whereas controls showed increased DMN-FC. Finally, participants exhibit a remarkable correlation between reduced DMN connectivity during YN and self-reported hours of cumulative meditation and yoga practice. Together, these results suggest a unique neural modulation of the DMN in meditators during YN which results in being restful yet aware, aligned with their subjective experience of the practice. The study deepens our understanding of the neural mechanisms of YN, revealing distinct DMN connectivity decoupling in meditators and its relationship with meditation and yoga experience. These findings have interdisciplinary implications for neuroscience, psychology, and yogic disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suruchi Fialoke
- National Resource Center for Value Education in Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
| | - Vaibhav Tripathi
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, USA
| | - Sonika Thakral
- Department of Computer Science, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
| | - Anju Dhawan
- National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, India
| | | | - Rahul Garg
- National Resource Center for Value Education in Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India.
- Amar Nath and Shashi Khosla School of Information Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India.
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India.
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Endo H, Ikeda S, Harada K, Yamagata H, Matsubara T, Matsuo K, Kawahara Y, Yamashita O. Manifold alteration between major depressive disorder and healthy control subjects using dynamic mode decomposition in resting-state fMRI data. Front Psychiatry 2024; 15:1288808. [PMID: 38352652 PMCID: PMC10861746 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1288808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The World Health Organization has reported that approximately 300 million individuals suffer from the mood disorder known as MDD. Non-invasive measurement techniques have been utilized to reveal the mechanism of MDD, with rsfMRI being the predominant method. The previous functional connectivity and energy landscape studies have shown the difference in the coactivation patterns between MDD and HCs. However, these studies did not consider oscillatory temporal dynamics. Methods In this study, the dynamic mode decomposition, a method to compute a set of coherent spatial patterns associated with the oscillation frequency and temporal decay rate, was employed to investigate the alteration of the occurrence of dynamic modes between MDD and HCs. Specifically, The BOLD signals of each subject were transformed into dynamic modes representing coherent spatial patterns and discrete-time eigenvalues to capture temporal variations using dynamic mode decomposition. All the dynamic modes were disentangled into a two-dimensional manifold using t-SNE. Density estimation and density ratio estimation were applied to the two-dimensional manifolds after the two-dimensional manifold was split based on HCs and MDD. Results The dynamic modes that uniquely emerged in the MDD were not observed. Instead, we have found some dynamic modes that have shown increased or reduced occurrence in MDD compared with HCs. The reduced dynamic modes were associated with the visual and saliency networks while the increased dynamic modes were associated with the default mode and sensory-motor networks. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this study showed initial evidence of the alteration of occurrence of the dynamic modes between MDD and HCs. To deepen understanding of how the alteration of the dynamic modes emerges from the structure, it is vital to investigate the relationship between the dynamic modes, cortical thickness, and surface areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidenori Endo
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Projects, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Computational Brain Imaging, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shigeyuki Ikeda
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Projects, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Computational Brain Imaging, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
| | - Kenichiro Harada
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Yamagata
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Toshio Matsubara
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Koji Matsuo
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Yoshinobu Kawahara
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Projects, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Okito Yamashita
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Projects, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Computational Brain Imaging, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) Neural Information Analysis Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan
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Zhang Y, Chen S, Zhang Z, Duan W, Zhao L, Weinschenk G, Luh WM, Anderson AK, Dai W. Effect of Meditation on Brain Activity during an Attention Task: A Comparison Study of ASL and BOLD Task fMRI. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1653. [PMID: 38137100 PMCID: PMC10741430 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13121653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Focused attention meditation (FAM) training has been shown to improve attention, but the neural basis of FAM on attention has not been thoroughly understood. Here, we aim to investigate the neural effect of a 2-month FAM training on novice meditators in a visual oddball task (a frequently adopted task to evaluate attention), evaluated with both ASL and BOLD fMRI. Using ASL, activation was increased in the middle cingulate (part of the salience network, SN) and temporoparietal (part of the frontoparietal network, FPN) regions; the FAM practice time was negatively associated with the longitudinal changes in activation in the medial prefrontal (part of the default mode network, DMN) and middle frontal (part of the FPN) regions. Using BOLD, the FAM practice time was positively associated with the longitudinal changes of activation in the inferior parietal (part of the dorsal attention network, DAN), dorsolateral prefrontal (part of the FPN), and precentral (part of the DAN) regions. The effect sizes for the activation changes and their association with practice time using ASL are significantly larger than those using BOLD. Our study suggests that FAM training may improve attention via modulation of the DMN, DAN, SN, and FPN, and ASL may be a sensitive tool to study the FAM effect on attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yakun Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA (S.C.)
| | - Shichun Chen
- Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA (S.C.)
| | - Zongpai Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA (S.C.)
| | - Wenna Duan
- Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA (S.C.)
| | - Li Zhao
- College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - George Weinschenk
- Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA (S.C.)
| | - Wen-Ming Luh
- National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21225, USA
| | - Adam K. Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA;
| | - Weiying Dai
- Department of Computer Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA (S.C.)
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Cooper AC, Ventura B, Northoff G. Beyond the veil of duality-topographic reorganization model of meditation. Neurosci Conscious 2022; 2022:niac013. [PMID: 36237370 PMCID: PMC9552929 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niac013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Meditation can exert a profound impact on our mental life, with proficient practitioners often reporting an experience free of boundaries between a separate self and the environment, suggesting an explicit experience of "nondual awareness." What are the neural correlates of such experiences and how do they relate to the idea of nondual awareness itself? In order to unravel the effects that meditation has on the brain's spatial topography, we review functional magnetic resonance imaging brain findings from studies specific to an array of meditation types and meditator experience levels. We also review findings from studies that directly probe the interaction between meditation and the experience of the self. The main results are (i) decreased posterior default mode network (DMN) activity, (ii) increased central executive network (CEN) activity, (iii) decreased connectivity within posterior DMN as well as between posterior and anterior DMN, (iv) increased connectivity within the anterior DMN and CEN, and (v) significantly impacted connectivity between the DMN and CEN (likely a nonlinear phenomenon). Together, these suggest a profound organizational shift of the brain's spatial topography in advanced meditators-we therefore propose a topographic reorganization model of meditation (TRoM). One core component of the TRoM is that the topographic reorganization of DMN and CEN is related to a decrease in the mental-self-processing along with a synchronization with the more nondual layers of self-processing, notably interoceptive and exteroceptive-self-processing. This reorganization of the functionality of both brain and self-processing can result in the explicit experience of nondual awareness. In conclusion, this review provides insight into the profound neural effects of advanced meditation and proposes a result-driven unifying model (TRoM) aimed at identifying the inextricably tied objective (neural) and subjective (experiential) effects of meditation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin Clinton Cooper
- Integrated Program of Neuroscience, Room 302, Irving Ludmer Building, 1033 Pine Avenue W., McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada
| | - Bianca Ventura
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, 1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4, Canada
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, 1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4, Canada
- Mental Health Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Newberg AB, Wintering NA, Hriso C, Vedaei F, Stoner M, Ross R. Alterations in Functional Connectivity Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Relationship With Heart Rate Variability in Subjects After Performing Orgasmic Meditation: An Exploratory Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:708973. [PMID: 34858249 PMCID: PMC8631761 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: We measured changes in resting brain functional connectivity, with blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), associated with a creative meditation practice that is augmented by clitoral stimulation and is designed to not only achieve a spiritual experience but to help individuals manage their most intimate personal relationships. Briefly, the meditative state is attained by both the male and female participants while the male stimulates the woman’s clitoris. The goal of this practice, called orgasmic meditation (OM), according to the practitioners is not sexual, but to use the focus on clitoral stimulation to facilitate a meditative state of connectedness and calm alertness between the two participants. Methods: fMRI was acquired on 20 pairs of subjects shortly following one of two states that were randomized in their order – during the OM practice or during a neutral condition. The practice is performed while the female is lying down on pillows with the clitoris exposed. During the practice, the male performs digital stimulation of the clitoris for 15 min. Resting BOLD image acquisition was performed at completion of the practice to assess changes in functional connectivity associated with the performance of the practice. Results: The results demonstrated significant changes (p < 0.05) in functional connectivity associated with the OM compared to the neutral condition. For the entire group there was altered connectivity following the OM practice involving the left superior temporal lobe, the frontal lobe, anterior cingulate, and insula. In female subjects, there was altered connectivity involving the cerebellum, thalamus, inferior frontal lobe posterior parietal lobe, angular gyrus, amygdala and middle temporal gyrus, and prefrontal cortex. In males, functional connectivity changes involved the supramarginal gyrus, cerebellum, and orbitofrontal gyrus, cerebellum, parahippocampus, inferior temporal gyrus, and anterior cingulate. Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest a complex pattern of functional connectivity changes occurring in both members of the couple pair that result from this unique meditation practice. The changes represent a hybrid of functional connectivity findings with some similarities to meditation based practices and some with sexual stimulation and orgasm. This study has broader implications for understanding the dynamic relationship between sexuality and spirituality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B Newberg
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nancy A Wintering
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Chloe Hriso
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Faezeh Vedaei
- Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Marie Stoner
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Reneita Ross
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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