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- Title
Impact of meditation training on the default mode network during a restful state.
- Authors
Taylor, Véronique A; Daneault, Véronique; Grant, Joshua; Scavone, Geneviève; Breton, Estelle; Roffe-Vidal, Sébastien; Courtemanche, Jérôme; Lavarenne, Anaïs S; Marrelec, Guillaume; Benali, Habib; Beauregard, Mario
- Abstract
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to promote emotional stability. Moreover, during the processing of aversive and self-referential stimuli, mindful awareness is associated with reduced medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) activity, a central default mode network (DMN) component. However, it remains unclear whether mindfulness practice influences functional connectivity between DMN regions and, if so, whether such impact persists beyond a state of meditation. Consequently, this study examined the effect of extensive mindfulness training on functional connectivity within the DMN during a restful state. Resting-state data were collected from 13 experienced meditators (with over 1000 h of training) and 11 beginner meditators (with no prior experience, trained for 1 week before the study) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Pairwise correlations and partial correlations were computed between DMN seed regions' time courses and were compared between groups utilizing a Bayesian sampling scheme. Relative to beginners, experienced meditators had weaker functional connectivity between DMN regions involved in self-referential processing and emotional appraisal. In addition, experienced meditators had increased connectivity between certain DMN regions (e.g. dorso-medial PFC and right inferior parietal lobule), compared to beginner meditators. These findings suggest that meditation training leads to functional connectivity changes between core DMN regions possibly reflecting strengthened present-moment awareness.
- Publication
Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2013, Vol 8, Issue 1, p4
- ISSN
1749-5024
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1093/scan/nsr087