Journal of cognitive neuroscience
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Kannammai Pichappan, Jude Hammoud et al.
35 citations
Greater trait mindfulness, measured by self-report scales, is consistently linked with reduced amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli, increased cortical thickness in frontal and insular regions, and decreased connectivity within the default-mode network, converging with findings from intervention studies and mindfulness experts. However, associations with EEG metrics and between-network resting-state fMRI remain inconclusive. The authors recommend larger samples, multivariate approaches, and careful reliability testing, urging a move away from simplistic explanations of mindfulness and brain function.
Mindfulness
November 1, 2023
Isaac N Treves, Halie A Olson, Ola Ozernov-Palchik et al.
15 citations
An 8-week randomized controlled trial with 279 U.S. children ages 8-10 tested a remote, app-based mindfulness intervention (Inner Explorer) against two audiobook control groups. Over 80% of children completed the intervention. Children who used the mindfulness app reported reduced self-perceived stress, and parents reported reduced negative affect in their children. However, no significant reductions in anxiety or depression symptoms were found. Between-group effect sizes were small. Regular use—at least 30 days of practice within the study period—was linked to lower child negative affect (by parental report), lower parental stress, and lower child self-perceived stress. The findings suggest that home use of a mindfulness app can benefit children's emotional well-being if used regularly.
Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
January 1, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Idil Sezer, Isaac N Treves et al.
9 citations
Long-term meditators show a distinct pattern of cognitive and neural changes from prolonged mindfulness practice, including enhanced sensory integration, reduced negative emotional responses to pain, more rational decision-making, and altered self-awareness. Neuroimaging reveals increased activation in brain networks linked to interoception and pain (salience network), reduced connectivity between executive and salience networks, diminished fear and amygdala activation, and altered default-mode network activity associated with emotional neutrality and non-ordinary states of consciousness. Methodological limitations prevent firm conclusions about lasting trait effects, and a unified neurophenomenological framework is needed to systematically study advanced meditation's states and stages.
Human brain mapping
January 1, 2025
Isaac N Treves, Aaron Kucyi, Madelynn Park et al.
8 citations
Trait mindfulness—the tendency to attend to present experience non-judgmentally—is linked to better mental health, but its neural basis remains unclear. In the largest resting-state fMRI study of trait mindfulness to date, involving 367 meditation-naïve adults across three sites, no connections predicted overall trait mindfulness. However, neural models for two subscales, Acting with Awareness and Non-judging, were identified. Positive networks for these subscales involved distinct fronto-parietal and default-mode networks, while negative networks overlapped across subscales and included somatomotor, visual, and default-mode regions. Only negative networks generalized to predict subscale scores in some out-of-sample tests. Predictions negatively correlated with a mind-wandering model. The findings provide preliminary evidence for generalizable connectivity models of mindfulness facets, but incomplete generalization across sites and model overlap highlight the challenge of identifying robust brain markers.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
February 5, 2025
Isaac N Treves, Aaron K Kucyi, Anna O Tierney et al.
1 citation
During a breath-counting task, 72 adolescents showed increased static connectivity within attention-direction and orienting networks and anticorrelations between attention networks and the default mode network compared to rest. Dynamic connectivity analysis revealed four distinct brain states, including one anticorrelated with the default mode network that was proportionally more present during the task. Brain state markers distinguished breathing tasks from rest and momentary on-task from off-task attention, but no brain states reflected between-individual behavioral variability.