Meditation practices, which have shown therapeutic benefits for conditions like depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety, have been studied with neuroimaging over the past decade. However, existing neuroscientific models are based on small, heterogeneous datasets, limiting generalizability and replicability. The ENIGMA-Meditation consortium is the first worldwide collaborative effort to conduct systematic meta- and mega-analyses of globally distributed neuroimaging data using standardized methods. This framework aims to improve statistical power and address multidomain heterogeneity in meditation practice types, experience, and experimental design. The consortium will generate rigorous neuroscientific insights into the mechanisms underlying meditation's therapeutic effects on psychological and cognitive attributes.
A clinical trial tested whether adding vibration to breath-focused mindfulness meditation (VABF) reduces respiration rate or variability in trauma-exposed adults with dissociation. 128 participants were randomly assigned to VABF, breath-focus only, vibration only, or open awareness. VABF decreased respiration variability across visits, while all other interventions increased it. Respiration variability was positively associated with anxiety and anger ratings. The findings suggest respiration variability is a meaningful metric for examining regulatory processes and is modifiable through VABF, which holds promise as an intervention for trauma-exposed populations.