Differential Effects of Meditation States on Neural Pain Processing in Novice and Long-Term Meditators

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.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The main objective of the present study was to explore the effects of different types of meditation on the neurophysiologic mechanisms of pain processing. Method EEG responses to electric median nerve stimulation were recorded in short-term and long-term meditators (STM, LTM) during rest and three forms of meditation engaging attentional and affective regulation in different ways: focused attention meditation (FAM), open monitoring meditation (OMM), and loving-kindness meditation (LKM). EEG responses were analysed in the time- and time-frequency domains to compute local components, and temporal and spatial synchronizations of multi-spectral pain-related oscillations (PROs) in order to characterize bottom-up processes, proactive modulation of cortical excitability, cognitive/affective appraisal, and the connectivity of performance monitoring (fronto-medial) and attentional (fronto-parietal) networks during pain processing. Results STM manifested a significant decrease in the connectedness of the fronto-medial theta-alpha network and a significant reduction of the P3b during LKM. In contrast, changes in LTM were observed during FAM and OMM. They were characterized by pre-stimulus alpha increase at somatosensory areas, and modulations of fronto-medial and fronto-parietal theta-alpha synchronizations. Conclusions Different meditation states do not influence bottom-up sensory pain processing. However, they significantly alter cognitive/affective pain mechanisms in state- and trait-dependent ways. In novice meditators, a positive emotional disposition during meditation can suppress the distribution and cognitive/affective appraisal of nociceptive signals. In expert meditators, the effects of meditation states on pain processing are critically guided by advanced control of internal attention leading to fine-tuned involvement and functional segregation of cognitive control and attention networks. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.