Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. 2007

J A Brefczynski-Lewis, and A Lutz, and H S Schaefer, and D B Levinson, and R J Davidson
W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior, Medical College of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53226, USA.

Meditation refers to a family of mental training practices that are designed to familiarize the practitioner with specific types of mental processes. One of the most basic forms of meditation is concentration meditation, in which sustained attention is focused on an object such as a small visual stimulus or the breath. In age-matched participants, using functional MRI, we found that activation in a network of brain regions typically involved in sustained attention showed an inverted u-shaped curve in which expert meditators (EMs) with an average of 19,000 h of practice had more activation than novices, but EMs with an average of 44,000 h had less activation. In response to distracter sounds used to probe the meditation, EMs vs. novices had less brain activation in regions related to discursive thoughts and emotions and more activation in regions related to response inhibition and attention. Correlation with hours of practice suggests possible plasticity in these mechanisms.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008279 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques. Chemical Shift Imaging,MR Tomography,MRI Scans,MRI, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Image,Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional,Magnetization Transfer Contrast Imaging,NMR Imaging,NMR Tomography,Tomography, NMR,Tomography, Proton Spin,fMRI,Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,Imaging, Chemical Shift,Proton Spin Tomography,Spin Echo Imaging,Steady-State Free Precession MRI,Tomography, MR,Zeugmatography,Chemical Shift Imagings,Echo Imaging, Spin,Echo Imagings, Spin,Functional MRI,Functional MRIs,Image, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, NMR,Imaging, Spin Echo,Imagings, Chemical Shift,Imagings, Spin Echo,MRI Scan,MRIs, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Images,Resonance Image, Magnetic,Scan, MRI,Scans, MRI,Shift Imaging, Chemical,Shift Imagings, Chemical,Spin Echo Imagings,Steady State Free Precession MRI
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D010296 Parietal Lobe Upper central part of the cerebral hemisphere. It is located posterior to central sulcus, anterior to the OCCIPITAL LOBE, and superior to the TEMPORAL LOBES. Brodmann Area 39,Brodmann Area 40,Brodmann Area 5,Brodmann Area 7,Brodmann's Area 39,Brodmann's Area 40,Brodmann's Area 5,Brodmann's Area 7,Inferior Parietal Cortex,Secondary Sensorimotor Cortex,Superior Parietal Lobule,Angular Gyrus,Gyrus Angularis,Gyrus Supramarginalis,Intraparietal Sulcus,Marginal Sulcus,Parietal Cortex,Parietal Lobule,Parietal Region,Posterior Paracentral Lobule,Posterior Parietal Cortex,Praecuneus,Precuneus,Precuneus Cortex,Prelunate Gyrus,Supramarginal Gyrus,Area 39, Brodmann,Area 39, Brodmann's,Area 40, Brodmann,Area 40, Brodmann's,Area 5, Brodmann,Area 5, Brodmann's,Area 7, Brodmann,Area 7, Brodmann's,Brodmanns Area 39,Brodmanns Area 40,Brodmanns Area 5,Brodmanns Area 7,Cortex, Inferior Parietal,Cortex, Parietal,Cortex, Posterior Parietal,Cortex, Precuneus,Cortex, Secondary Sensorimotor,Cortices, Inferior Parietal,Gyrus, Angular,Gyrus, Prelunate,Gyrus, Supramarginal,Inferior Parietal Cortices,Lobe, Parietal,Lobule, Parietal,Lobule, Posterior Paracentral,Lobule, Superior Parietal,Paracentral Lobule, Posterior,Paracentral Lobules, Posterior,Parietal Cortex, Inferior,Parietal Cortex, Posterior,Parietal Cortices,Parietal Cortices, Inferior,Parietal Cortices, Posterior,Parietal Lobes,Parietal Lobule, Superior,Parietal Lobules,Parietal Lobules, Superior,Parietal Regions,Posterior Paracentral Lobules,Posterior Parietal Cortices,Precuneus Cortices,Region, Parietal,Secondary Sensorimotor Cortices,Sensorimotor Cortex, Secondary,Superior Parietal Lobules
D011930 Reaction Time The time from the onset of a stimulus until a response is observed. Response Latency,Response Speed,Response Time,Latency, Response,Reaction Times,Response Latencies,Response Times,Speed, Response,Speeds, Response
D005625 Frontal Lobe The part of the cerebral hemisphere anterior to the central sulcus, and anterior and superior to the lateral sulcus. Brodmann Area 8,Brodmann's Area 8,Frontal Cortex,Frontal Eye Fields,Lobus Frontalis,Supplementary Eye Field,Area 8, Brodmann,Area 8, Brodmann's,Brodmanns Area 8,Cortex, Frontal,Eye Field, Frontal,Eye Field, Supplementary,Eye Fields, Frontal,Frontal Cortices,Frontal Eye Field,Frontal Lobes,Lobe, Frontal,Supplementary Eye Fields
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D001288 Attention Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating. Focus of Attention,Selective Attention,Social Attention,Attention Focus,Attention, Selective,Attention, Social,Selective Attentions
D019122 Meditation A state of consciousness in which the individual eliminates environmental stimuli from awareness so that the mind can focus on a single thing, producing a state of relaxation and relief from stress. A wide variety of techniques are used to clear the mind of stressful outside interferences. It includes meditation therapy. (Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, 4th ed) Transcendental Meditation,Meditation, Transcendental

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