Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions

Facilitating Mindfulness Training with Ultrasonic Neuromodulation

This study shows that tFUS targeting the PCC during mindfulness training increases DMN-CEN decoupling in novices, mimicking effects seen in experienced meditators after just two weeks.

Neural mechanisms of impaired self-compassion in depressed adolescents during social exclusion

This study investigates neural mechanisms of impaired self-compassion in depressed adolescents during social exclusion using event-related potentials.

Microstate Dynamics of Focused Attention Meditation

This study examines how focused-attention meditation modulates brain microstate dynamics, showing reduced Microstate C and increased Microstates D and E in experienced practitioners.

Distinct patterns of directed brain connectivity in focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: An EEG Granger causality study with long-term meditators

This study uses EEG Granger causality to compare directed brain connectivity during three meditation types, finding distinct patterns in information flow between meditation states and rest.

The effects of mindfulness on working memory: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This meta-analysis finds mindfulness interventions improve working memory with medium effect sizes across different study designs and populations.

Intracranial substrates of meditation-induced neuromodulation in amygdala and hippocampus

The paper investigates meditation-induced neuromodulation in the amygdala and hippocampus using invasive electrophysiology recordings from epilepsy patients during loving-kindness meditation.

Meditation induces shifts in neural oscillations, braincomplexity and critical dynamics: Novel insights fromMEG

This study examines how meditation affects neural oscillations, complexity, and critical dynamics using MEG in expert monks, finding increased complexity and reduced gamma-band long-range correlations during meditation.

The mindful brain at rest: neural oscillations and aperiodic activity in experienced meditators

This study compares neural oscillations and 1/f activity between meditators and non-meditators using EEG, finding differences in theta, alpha, and gamma power after controlling for non-oscillatory activity.

Exploring the embodied mind: functional connectome fingerprinting of meditation expertise

The paper investigates the neural correlates of meditation expertise by comparing functional connectivity patterns between long-term meditators and novices, finding increased integration of brain networks associated with embodied cognition.

Augmenting complex and dynamic performance through mindfulness-based cognitive training: an evaluation of training adherence, trait mindfulness, personality and resting-state EEG.

This study evaluates how a short-term mindfulness intervention improves performance on a dynamic task, showing adherence correlates with performance gains across individual differences.

Short-Term Meditation Training Alters Brain Activity and Sympathetic Responses at Rest, but not during the meditation

This study shows that short-term meditation training increases resting brain activity and sympathetic responses, but not during meditation itself.

Mindfulness-based Neurofeedback: A Systematic Review of EEG and fMRI studies

This review evaluates EEG and fMRI studies on mindfulness-based neurofeedback, finding mixed evidence for brain changes and mental health benefits, with limitations in control groups and transfer effects.

Uncovering a stability signature of brain dynamics associated with meditation experience using massive time-series feature extraction

The paper analyzes EEG data from meditators and non-meditators to identify time-series features that distinguish meditators, finding higher temporal stability in a specific EEG component.

Experienced Meditators Show Multifaceted Attention-Related Differences in Neural Activity

The paper examines neural activity differences between meditators and non-meditators during an attentional-blink task, finding some attention-related neural changes but no improvement in task accuracy.

Meditators probably show increased behaviour-monitoring related neural activity

The paper investigates whether experienced meditators show differences in neural activity related to performance monitoring and error-processing using EEG, finding larger global field potentials in the Pe for meditators but with mixed statistical significance.

Long-term meditation training is associated with enhanced attention and stronger posterior cingulate - rostrolateral prefrontal cortex resting connectivity

This study finds that long-term meditation enhances attention and strengthens posterior cingulate-rostrolateral prefrontal cortex connectivity in meditators compared to controls.

Large-scale genomic study reveals robust activation of the immune system following advanced Inner Engineering meditation retreat.

This study identifies a meditation-specific immune response network through gene expression analysis, showing upregulation of immune-related genes and downregulation of stress and cell cycle pathways.

Mindfulness Training Alters Resting-State EEG Dynamics in Novice Practitioners via Mindful Breathing and Body-scan

This study shows that 8-week mindfulness training increases resting-state beta power and decreases delta power in EEG, with body-scan reducing delta and gamma power more than mindful breathing.

The EEG spectral fingerprints of meditation and mind wandering differ between experienced meditators and novices

This study finds that experienced meditators show distinct EEG spectral patterns during meditation and mind wandering compared to novices.

Contemplative mental training reduces hair glucocorticoid levels in a randomized clinical trial

This study shows that contemplative mental training reduces hair cortisol and cortisone levels in healthy adults, with effects increasing with practice frequency and independent of training content.

Effects of compassion training on brain responses to suffering others

This study investigates the effects of compassion meditation on brain responses to others' suffering using a randomized trial and fMRI.

Increases in whole brain grey matter associated with long-term Sahaja Yoga Meditation: a detailed area by area description

The paper investigates regional grey matter volume differences between long-term Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners and controls using a novel statistical approach, finding significant increases in specific brain areas.

Studying the precuneus reveals structure-function-affect correlation in long-term meditators

This paper examines the relationship between brain structure, function, and self-reports in long-term meditators, finding negative correlations between precuneus gray matter density and meditation experience and positive affect.

Mindfulness meditation alters neural activity underpinning working memory during tactile distraction

This study finds that mindfulness meditation alters neural activity patterns during working memory tasks, leading to improved performance and different distribution of P300 and alpha activity.

Focus on the breath: Brain decoding reveals internal states of attention during meditation

This paper uses MVPA on fMRI data to decode internal attention states during meditation, finding that participants spent more time on breath attention than other states.

Mindfulness meditators show enhanced working memory performance concurrent with different brain region engagement patterns during recall

This study finds that mindfulness meditators show improved working memory accuracy with different brain activation patterns, but no differences in oscillation activity during the memory delay.

Experienced meditators exhibit no differences to demographically-matched controls in theta phase synchronisation, P200, or P300 during an auditory oddball task

Mindfulness meditators show altered distributions of early and late neural activity markers of attention in a response inhibition task

The paper compares neural activity patterns between mindfulness meditators and controls during a response inhibition task, finding altered distributions of attention-related markers.

The Human Default Consciousness and its Disruption: Insights from an EEG Study of Buddhist Jhana Meditation

This paper reports an EEG study of Buddhist jhana meditation, finding unique brain activity patterns distinct from typical meditation and resembling sleep or seizure states.

Mindfulness meditators do not show differences in electrophysiological measures of error processing

This study finds no differences in EEG measures of error processing between mindfulness meditators and controls, despite prior conflicting results.