Frontiers in human neuroscience
January 1, 2012
Manish Saggar, Brandon G King, Anthony P Zanesco et al.
136 citations
Intensive meditation training produces replicable changes in brainwave activity. In a controlled study, participants who practiced focused attention meditation for three months showed reduced beta-band power over anterior and posterior scalp regions during meditation, compared to a wait-list group that later received identical training. Individual alpha frequency also decreased across both retreats, and the decrease was directly related to the amount of meditation practice. These longitudinal changes in brain oscillatory activity help explain how meditation may support long-term improvements in attention and cognition.
NeuroImage
July 1, 2015
Manish Saggar, Anthony P Zanesco, Brandon G King et al.
31 citations
Intensive meditation training alters brain dynamics by increasing the delay between cortical and thalamic cells and reducing inhibitory connections within the thalamus. These changes, identified through computational modeling of EEG data from two 3-month meditation retreats, provide a neural mechanism for the previously observed slowing of individual alpha frequency. The reduced thalamic inhibition enhances dynamical stability in the model. This is the first computational approach incorporating anatomical and physiological constraints to formally model brain processes underlying intensive meditation, offering testable hypotheses for attention training and potential clinical applications.
Manish Saggar, Brandon King, Anthony Paul Zanesco et al.
1 citation
Intensive meditation training over three months produces replicable changes in brain electrical activity. Retreat participants who practiced focused attention meditation showed reduced beta-band brain wave power over front and back regions of the scalp during mindfulness of breathing. Individual alpha frequency also decreased across retreats, and the decrease was directly related to the amount of meditation practice. These changes in brain oscillatory patterns may underlie improvements in attention and cognition from contemplative practice.
medRxiv Preprint Server
April 19, 2026
Cameron C. Glick, Saad Pirzada, Shaun Quah et al.
preprint
A scalable, low-burden behavioral intervention using ultra-brief, remotely delivered meditation was tested in a randomized controlled trial with multimodal outcome assessment under real-world conditions. The intervention aimed to address rising subclinical mental health symptoms, though the abstract does not report specific findings or effect sizes.
iScience
February 21, 2026
Andrew D. Geoly, John P. Coetzee, Derrick Matthew Buchanan et al.
In a small study of 22 military veterans with traumatic brain injury, a single treatment with magnesium-ibogaine was associated with changes in brain structure one month later. Brain scans showed an average reduction in predicted brain age of 1.3 years, increased thickness in 11 cortical regions, and volume expansion in 8 subcortical regions. While the authors note that the imaging technique can also reflect nonstructural changes, the overall pattern of results is consistent with neuroplastic change.
Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
February 1, 2026
Malvika Sridhar, Azeezat Azeez, Andrew Geoly et al.
Meditation significantly enhances brain connectivity, with studies showing a 30% increase in functional connectivity among experienced practitioners compared to novices. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers observed notable changes in neural activity associated with consciousness and emotional regulation. In a sample of 100 participants, those who meditated regularly exhibited stronger connections between brain regions linked to attention and self-awareness. This underscores the potential of meditation as a tool for improving mental health and cognitive function, highlighting its relevance in neuroscience and psychology.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 10, 2025
Shaun K.l. Quah, Cameron Glick, Leor Roseman et al.
preprint
People with major depression who responded to either psilocybin or escitalopram showed distinct changes in brain network connectivity compared to non-responders. Responders had increased linear connectivity within the ventral attention network and greater nonlinear connectivity within the default mode and ventral attention networks. Psilocybin responders showed enhanced coordination between higher-order networks, while escitalopram responders showed reduced connectivity within networks linked to self-referential thought and salience processing. These patterns suggest the two antidepressants work through different mechanisms, with nonlinear connectivity analyses revealing effects not captured by traditional linear measures.