Within-subject reliability of brain networks during advanced meditation: An intensively sampled 7 Tesla MRI case study.
Saampras Ganesan, Winson F Z Yang, Avijit Chowdhury, Andrew Zalesky, Matthew D Sacchet
Human brain mapping May 1, 2024 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26666 via PubMed
Summary
Jhana meditation shows good reliability in brain responses across multiple sessions, with the thalamus and various cortical networks demonstrating consistent activation. This study involved one adept practitioner undergoing 27 fMRI runs over 5 days using a 7 Tesla MRI scanner. Adjusting for self-reported experiences related to jhana meditation improved the reliability of additional brain networks. These findings provide insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of advanced meditation practices.
Study at a glance
| Design | observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | one adept practitioner of jhana meditation |
| Key finding | The thalamus and several cortical networks showed good within-subject reliability during jhana meditation. |
Abstract
Advanced meditation such as jhana meditation can produce various altered states of consciousness (jhanas) and cultivate rewarding psychological qualities including joy, peace, compassion, and attentional stability. Mapping the neurobiological substrates of jhana meditation can inform the development and application of advanced meditation to enhance well-being. Only two prior studies have attempted to investigate the neural correlates of jhana meditation, and the rarity of adept practitioners has largely restricted the size and extent of these studies. Therefore, examining the consistency and reliability of observed brain responses associated with jhana meditation can be valuable. In this study, we aimed to characterize functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reliability within a single subject over repeated runs in canonical brain networks during jhana meditation performed by an adept practitioner over 5 days (27 fMRI runs) inside an ultra-high field 7 Tesla MRI scanner. We found that thalamus and several cortical networks, that is, the somatomotor, limbic, default-mode, control, and temporo-parietal, demonstrated good within-subject reliability across all jhanas. Additionally, we found that several other relevant brain networks (e.g., attention, salience) showed noticeable increases in reliability when fMRI measurements were adjusted for variability in self-reported phenomenology related to jhana meditation. Overall, we present a preliminary template of reliable brain areas likely underpinning core neurocognitive elements of jhana meditation, and highlight the utility of neurophenomenological experimental designs for better characterizing neuronal variability associated with advanced meditative states.