Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners
West Virginia University · University of Wisconsin System · +3 more institutions
Abstract
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…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 34.76
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 49
Authors
5- JAJulie A. Brefczynski‐LewisCorresponding
West Virginia University, University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin
- ALAntoine Lutz
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin
- HSHillary S. Schaefer
University of Virginia
- DBDaniel B. Levinson
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin
- RJRichard J. Davidson
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin
Topics & keywords
- Meditation
- Psychology
- Stimulus (psychology)
- Neuroplasticity
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging
- Aversive Stimulus
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Quality Education