Department of Anaesthesiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Hefei), Hefei, Anhui, 230061, People's Republic of China.
2 papers in the library · 40 citations · publishing 2020-2025
Meditation alters how the brain represents signals from the heart, particularly within the default mode network (DMN), and reorganizes large-scale brain networks. In a large group of long-term Tibetan Buddhist monks, meditation produced distinct, transient changes in the brain's response to heartbeats in the DMN and reconfigurations of EEG gamma and theta band networks. Theta-band connectivity between temporal and frontal regions decreased with more meditation experience, and gamma oscillations became directionally coupled to theta oscillations during meditation. These findings suggest that changes in the neural representation of cardiac activity and large-scale network integration underlie meditation's effects, implying that meditation induces both immediate and lasting plasticity in brain organization.
Anxiety and depression are common after stroke and often persist without adequate long-term support. Mindfulness-based interventions can help stroke survivors self-manage these symptoms, but little is known about what keeps survivors practicing after an intervention ends. This secondary analysis of follow-up interviews with 12 stroke survivors who completed the HEADS: UP mindfulness program identified seven mechanisms that supported continued practice: believing practice brings benefits, personal preferences and accessibility, continued learning, attitudes of others and society, togetherness and connection, structuring and scaffolding practice, and competing priorities. The findings suggest that post-intervention support may help sustain mindfulness practice and could inform future intervention design and clinical guidance.