Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation

While recent studies have suggested behavioral effects of short-term meditation on the executive attentional functions, functional changes in the neural correlates of attentional networks after short-term meditation have been unspecified. Here, we conducted a randomized control trial to investigate...

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Main Authors: Seoyeon Kwak, So-Yeon Kim, Dahye Bae, Wu-Jeong Hwang, Kang Ik Kevin Cho, Kyung-Ok Lim, Hye-Yoon Park, Tae Young Lee, Jun Soo Kwon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03073/full
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spelling doaj-2792200a3e2e429f94553c714edd34c22020-11-25T02:10:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-02-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.03073467274Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive MeditationSeoyeon Kwak0So-Yeon Kim1Dahye Bae2Wu-Jeong Hwang3Kang Ik Kevin Cho4Kyung-Ok Lim5Hye-Yoon Park6Tae Young Lee7Jun Soo Kwon8Jun Soo Kwon9Jun Soo Kwon10Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychology, Duksung Women’s University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaInstitute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry, Ministry of Justice, Gongju-si, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaInstitute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaInstitute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, South KoreaWhile recent studies have suggested behavioral effects of short-term meditation on the executive attentional functions, functional changes in the neural correlates of attentional networks after short-term meditation have been unspecified. Here, we conducted a randomized control trial to investigate the effects of a 4-day intensive meditation on the neural correlates of three attentional functions: alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Twenty-three participants in meditation practice and 14 participants in a relaxation retreat group performed attention network test (ANT) during functional magnetic resonance imaging both before and immediately after intervention. The meditation group showed significantly improved behavioral performance in the executive control network in ANT after the intervention. Moreover, neural activities in the executive control network, namely, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), were also significantly increased during the ANT after meditation. Interestingly, neural activity in the right ACC was significantly predicted by behavioral conflict levels in each individual in the meditation group, indicating significant effects of the program on the executive control network. Moreover, brain regions associated with the alerting and orienting networks also showed enhanced activity during the ANT after the meditation. Our study provides novel evidence on the enhancement of the attentional networks at the neural level via short-term meditation. We also suggest that short-term meditation may be beneficial to individuals at high risk of cognitive deficits by improving neural mechanisms of attention.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03073/fullmeditationmindfulness trainingTemplestayattentionattention network test
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Seoyeon Kwak
So-Yeon Kim
Dahye Bae
Wu-Jeong Hwang
Kang Ik Kevin Cho
Kyung-Ok Lim
Hye-Yoon Park
Tae Young Lee
Jun Soo Kwon
Jun Soo Kwon
Jun Soo Kwon
spellingShingle Seoyeon Kwak
So-Yeon Kim
Dahye Bae
Wu-Jeong Hwang
Kang Ik Kevin Cho
Kyung-Ok Lim
Hye-Yoon Park
Tae Young Lee
Jun Soo Kwon
Jun Soo Kwon
Jun Soo Kwon
Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation
Frontiers in Psychology
meditation
mindfulness training
Templestay
attention
attention network test
author_facet Seoyeon Kwak
So-Yeon Kim
Dahye Bae
Wu-Jeong Hwang
Kang Ik Kevin Cho
Kyung-Ok Lim
Hye-Yoon Park
Tae Young Lee
Jun Soo Kwon
Jun Soo Kwon
Jun Soo Kwon
author_sort Seoyeon Kwak
title Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation
title_short Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation
title_full Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation
title_fullStr Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation
title_full_unstemmed Enhanced Attentional Network by Short-Term Intensive Meditation
title_sort enhanced attentional network by short-term intensive meditation
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Psychology
issn 1664-1078
publishDate 2020-02-01
description While recent studies have suggested behavioral effects of short-term meditation on the executive attentional functions, functional changes in the neural correlates of attentional networks after short-term meditation have been unspecified. Here, we conducted a randomized control trial to investigate the effects of a 4-day intensive meditation on the neural correlates of three attentional functions: alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Twenty-three participants in meditation practice and 14 participants in a relaxation retreat group performed attention network test (ANT) during functional magnetic resonance imaging both before and immediately after intervention. The meditation group showed significantly improved behavioral performance in the executive control network in ANT after the intervention. Moreover, neural activities in the executive control network, namely, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), were also significantly increased during the ANT after meditation. Interestingly, neural activity in the right ACC was significantly predicted by behavioral conflict levels in each individual in the meditation group, indicating significant effects of the program on the executive control network. Moreover, brain regions associated with the alerting and orienting networks also showed enhanced activity during the ANT after the meditation. Our study provides novel evidence on the enhancement of the attentional networks at the neural level via short-term meditation. We also suggest that short-term meditation may be beneficial to individuals at high risk of cognitive deficits by improving neural mechanisms of attention.
topic meditation
mindfulness training
Templestay
attention
attention network test
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03073/full
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