Attentional and cognitive monitoring brain networks in long-term meditators depend on meditation states and expertise.
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.