2016/03/21 by Kieran C. R. Fox, Matthew L. Dixon, Fox, Kieran C. R. +15 · 1 citation
Psychology · #Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes #FOS: Biological sciences #Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions #Music Therapy and Health #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1603.06342
openalex publication_date 2016/03/21 · openalex created_date 2022/10/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Meditation is a family of mental practices that encompasses a wide array of\ntechniques employing distinctive mental strategies. We systematically reviewed\n78 functional neuroimaging (fMRI and PET) studies of meditation, and used\nactivation likelihood estimation to meta-analyze 257 peak foci from 31\nexperiments involving 527 participants. We found reliably dissociable patterns\nof brain activation and deactivation for four common styles of meditation\n(focused attention, mantra recitation, open monitoring, and\ncompassion/loving-kindness), and suggestive differences for three others\n(visualization, sense-withdrawal, and non-dual awareness practices). Overall,\ndissociable activation patterns are congruent with the psychological and\nbehavioral aims of each practice. Some brain areas are recruited consistently\nacross multiple techniques - including insula, pre/supplementary motor\ncortices, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and frontopolar cortex - but\nconvergence is the exception rather than the rule. A preliminary effect-size\nmeta-analysis found medium effects for both activations (d = .59) and\ndeactivations (d = -.74), suggesting potential practical significance. Our\nmeta-analysis supports the neurophysiological dissociability of meditation\npractices, but also raises many methodological concerns and suggests avenues\nfor future research.\n