Frontiers in Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Peter Malinowski
547 citations
Meditation practice appears to improve attentional functions by enhancing how attentional resources are allocated during early processing phases, which then improves subsequent cognitive processing. This review presents a theoretical framework emphasizing attentional control mechanisms as central to developing mindfulness skills. It discusses the phenomenological experience during meditation, the attentional functions involved, and the brain networks supporting them. Neural changes from pure mindfulness practice may serve as a reference for future research. The review also considers possible links between improved attentional control and emotion regulation skills, with implications for refining mindfulness-based interventions for conditions like eating disorders and ADHD.
Journal of Clinical Psychology
January 19, 2011
Alberto Chiesa, Peter Malinowski
456 citations
Mindfulness-based approaches are increasingly used to treat psychological, psychiatric, and physical problems, including ancient Buddhist meditations (Vipassana, Zen), modern group-based programs (mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy), and psychological interventions (dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy). This review examines their commonalities and differences in philosophical background, techniques, aims, outcomes, neurobiology, and psychological mechanisms. The interventions show large differences in how mindfulness is conceptualized and practiced. Whether these practices are considered unitary or distinct will likely influence future research directions.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2012
Adam Moore, Thomas Gruber, Jennifer Derose et al.
323 citations
Regular, brief mindfulness training improves attentional control and alters brain activity. In a randomized controlled EEG study, 40 meditation-naïve adults were assigned to either a wait-list or a meditation group that received three hours of training and practiced 10 minutes daily for 16 weeks. Stroop task performance and brain recordings at baseline, 8, and 16 weeks showed two distinct neural changes in meditators: an early effect (160–240 ms) at posterior sites indicating improved focusing of attention, and a later effect (310–380 ms) at central posterior sites reflecting reduced cognitive resource use during object recognition, especially for conflicting stimuli. Source analyses linked these changes to occipitotemporal and inferior temporal areas. The findings suggest mindfulness meditation enhances the efficiency of attentional resource allocation.
Scientific Reports
January 1, 2020
Juliana Yordanova, Vasil Kolev, Federica Mauro et al.
42 citations
Different meditation practices—focused attention, open monitoring, and loving kindness—share a common brain connectivity pattern while also showing distinct neural signatures. Using a refined measure of neural coupling (imaginary part of EEG coherence) in highly experienced meditators, the study found that all three types increased connectivity in broadly distributed delta networks, left-hemispheric theta networks with a posterior focus, and right-hemispheric alpha networks with a parieto-occipital focus. Each meditation state also recruited left- or right-lateralized beta networks in unique ways. These findings suggest that frequency-specific inter-hemispheric asymmetry is a key feature of meditation, with lateralized fast-frequency networks supporting the distinct mental processes of each practice.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
April 18, 2024
Melanie Boly, Richard Smith, Giulietta Vigueras Borrego et al.
5 citations
preprint
A state called pure presence, reported in meditative traditions as a vivid experience without thoughts, perceptions, or self, was examined in twenty-two long-term meditators using high-density EEG. During pure presence, brain activity showed widespread reductions in gamma and delta power compared to mind-wandering, watching a movie, active thinking, and dreamless sleep. The strongest gamma decreases occurred in the posteromedial cortex. These findings align with integrated information theory's prediction that vivid consciousness can arise when the brain's cortical substrate is largely quiet yet highly awake.
Scientific reports
March 27, 2025
Juliana Yordanova, Valentina Nicolardi, Peter Malinowski et al.
4 citations
Long-term meditation practice is associated with a proactive top-down inhibition of brain regions that process the sensory aspects of pain, even when the meditator is not actively meditating. Experienced meditators, compared to novices, showed substantially suppressed temporal and spatial synchronization of pain-related brain oscillations (from theta-alpha to gamma frequencies) at somatosensory areas within 200 milliseconds after a painful stimulus. This suppression was predicted by increased pre-stimulus alpha activity in the same regions, indicating a preparatory, inhibitory state. The emotional and cognitive reappraisal of pain, reflected by the P3b brainwave component, was reduced but not eliminated, suggesting that experienced meditators can dissociate proactive inhibition of sensory processing from reactive emotional evaluation during pain control.
bioRxiv
July 4, 2025
Vasil Kolev, Kosio Beshkov, Peter Malinowski et al.
2 citations
preprint
Long-term meditators show distinct patterns of directed brain connectivity depending on the type of meditation they practice. Using EEG and Granger causality analysis, the study found that focused attention meditation produces different neural communication pathways compared to open monitoring and loving-kindness meditation. Each meditation style engages unique brain networks, suggesting that different meditative practices shape brain connectivity in specific ways. These findings indicate that the brain's neural pathways adapt to the particular cognitive demands of each meditation technique.
bioRxiv
July 7, 2025
Vasil Kolev, Kosio Beshkov, Peter Malinowski et al.
1 citation
preprint
Long-term meditation increases directed information flow from posterior to frontal brain regions and between the two frontal hemispheres. Experienced meditators (22 people with long-term practice) showed stronger directional connectivity than short-term meditators (17 people) during both rest and three meditation states. This enhanced connectivity involved theta, alpha, and beta brain waves, with alpha waves most prominent. The posterior-to-anterior direction suggests reorganization of cognitive control networks, supporting sustained attention, present-moment awareness, and reduced mental elaboration. The pattern persisted across all states, indicating lasting neuroplastic changes from extensive meditation practice.
Mindfulness
April 1, 2026
Vasil Kolev, Peter Malinowski, Antonino Raffone et al.
Different types of meditation alter cognitive and affective pain mechanisms in distinct ways depending on a person's meditation experience. In novice meditators, loving-kindness meditation (LKM) reduced the connectivity of a frontal brain network and decreased a specific electrical brain response (P3b), suggesting that a positive emotional state can suppress the distribution and appraisal of pain signals. In long-term meditators, focused attention and open monitoring meditations increased pre-stimulus alpha brain waves in sensory areas and modulated frontal brain synchronizations. Bottom-up sensory pain processing was not influenced by any meditation state. The findings indicate that meditation experience guides how attention and cognitive control networks engage during pain.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
May 20, 2025
Vasil Kolev, Peter Malinowski, Antonino Raffone et al.
preprint
Different types of meditation alter how the brain processes pain, but the effects depend on the specific meditation technique. Focused attention meditation reduced pain intensity and unpleasantness by modulating activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, while open monitoring meditation reduced pain unpleasantness without affecting intensity, engaging different neural pathways. Loving-kindness meditation increased pain unpleasantness and activated regions associated with emotion and reward. The findings suggest that meditation-induced pain relief is not a uniform phenomenon but varies by practice.
Scientific Reports
March 1, 2021
Juliana Yordanova, Vasil Kolev, Valentina Nicolardi et al.
Meditation practice engages cognitive control systems in the brain. Highly experienced meditators, compared to novices, showed strong theta synchronization of fronto-parietal and medial-frontal networks in left parietal regions across all meditation styles. Only lateralized beta connectivity in medial-frontal networks differed between meditation styles. Theta fronto-parietal connectivity depended non-linearly on expertise, with opposite patterns in left and right hemispheres. Inter-hemispheric fronto-parietal connectivity in faster frequency bands increased linearly with expertise. These results indicate that executive control systems maintain meditation states, and lateralized involvement of these networks may support both generic and style-specific states, with functional plasticity in executive control networks underpinning unique states in expert meditators.