Striatal functional connectivity associated with Sahaja Yoga meditation.
Oscar Perez-Diaz, Sergio Elías Hernández, Lucy L Brown, Yaqiong Xiao, José Luis González-mora, Katya Rubia, Alfonso Barrós-loscertales
Scientific reports April 25, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-98256-w via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLong-term practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation show altered functional connectivity of the striatum, a brain region involved in cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes. During meditation, compared to their own resting state, meditators had altered connectivity between the striatum and parietal, sensorimotor, and cerebellar regions. In resting state, meditators had reduced connectivity between the left accumbens and the mid cingulate compared to non-meditators, and this reduction correlated with better performance on a task measuring interference inhibition. The striatum may play a key role in meditation by shifting attention, self-referencing, and bodily sensations, and long-term practice may produce lasting changes in striatal connectivity.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 46 |
| Population | 23 long-term Sahaja Yoga Meditation experts and 23 non-meditating controls |
| Intervention | Sahaja Yoga Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Functional connectivity Interference inhibition Mental silence Resting state |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | During meditation, meditators showed altered striatal connectivity with parietal, sensorimotor, and cerebellar regions; resting state in meditators showed reduced connectivity between the left accumbens and mid cingulate, correlated with reduced Simon Task interference. |
Abstract
Neuroscience research has associated meditation practice with effects on cognitive, motivational and emotional processes. These processes are mediated by several brain circuits, including the striatum and its associated cortical connections. The aim of this study was to focus on the striatum and test how its functional connectivity is affected in long-term practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation. We studied differences between resting and meditation states in a group of 23 Sahaja Yoga Meditation experts. We also compared the resting state between meditation experts and a control group of 23 non-meditating participants. Functional connectivity contrasts between conditions and groups were performed using seeds in the dorsal and ventral striatum (caudate, putamen and nucleus accumbens). During meditation, compared to the resting state, meditators showed altered connectivity between the striatum and parietal, sensorimotor and cerebellar regions. Resting state in meditators relative to that of controls showed reduced functional connectivity between the left accumbens and the mid cingulate, which was correlated with reduced Simon Task interference reaction time effect in meditators. In conclusion, the striatum may play a pivotal role in the practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation by altering attention and self-referencing, and by modulating bodily sensations. Furthermore, meditation practice could produce long-term changes in striatal connectivity.