Long-term mindfulness meditators exhibit increased spontaneous occurrence of brain states involving sensory and attention networks

Abstract

Interest has been growing in the use of mindfulness meditation (MM) as a therapeutic practice, as accumulating evidence highlights its potential to improve various mental functions and effectively address a range of mental conditions. Among the various hypotheses, a shift in the sense-of-self has been proposed as a possible core mechanism of MM, towards enhanced embodied cognition (related with self-specific processing), and away from narrative reflection (related with self-related processing). While fMRI studies focusing on neural activation and functional connectivity generally support this notion, the impact of MM practice on dynamic functional connectivity remains unclear. To fill this gap, in this study, the dynamics of intrinsic functional networks were compared between experienced MM practitioners and age-matched meditation-naïve control participants, to investigate the impact of long-term MM practice on the dynamic expression of resting state networks over time. Our analysis revealed that, when compared to meditation-naïve participants, experienced meditators at rest tend to spend more time in two brain states that involve cortical regions associated with sensory perception, with a heavy emphasis on visual processing. The opposite was found to occur in a brain state involving areas associated with higher cognitive functions and executive control. These findings suggest that MM might lead to a shift from an emphasis on executive control towards enhanced sensory and embodied processing. These results support the notion that long-term MM favors network states associated with self-specific processes and decrease the occurrence of states associated with self-related executive control. Overall, this study reinforces the utility of dynamical systems theory to extend current knowledge regarding the effects of MM on brain function.