Cerebral blood flow changes associated with different meditation practices and perceived depth of meditation.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Within-subject case series / uncontrolled neuroimaging study
PubMed 21145215 · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.09.011
What was done
Ten experienced meditators performed two types of meditation: a focused-based practice and a breath-based practice. Cerebral blood flow was measured using perfusion functional magnetic resonance imaging across four conditions: baseline, both meditation states, and a post-meditation baseline. Regional changes and correlations with perceived depth of meditation were analyzed using a general linear model.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, test statistics, or confidence intervals. It reports that meditation altered cerebral blood flow in the frontal regions, anterior cingulate, limbic system, and parietal lobes, with distinct flow patterns between the two practices. Depth of meditation correlated with neural activity in left inferior forebrain areas (insula, inferior frontal cortex, and temporal pole). Persistent blood flow changes were observed in the left anterior insula and precentral gyrus after meditation ceased.
Why it matters
This study demonstrates that different meditation practices engage distinct neural circuits within the same individuals and that subjective meditation depth corresponds to activity in specific forebrain structures.
Limits
The study is limited by a very small sample size (n = 10) and lack of a control group of non-meditators to control for time or scanner habituation. The abstract provides no quantitative effect sizes or statistical significance values.
Cited by
- supports Data show that advanced meditators can increase blood flow to a specific part of the brain.