Meditation training increases brain efficiency in an attention task

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2012-01, Vol.59 (1), p.745-749
• Main Authors: Kozasa, Elisa H., Sato, João R., Lacerda, Shirley S., Barreiros, Maria A.M., Radvany, João, Russell, Tamara A., Sanches, Liana G., Mello, Luiz E.A.M., Amaro, Edson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attention; Attention - physiology; Brain - physiology; Brain Mapping; Efficiency; Female; fMRI; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meditation; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Stroop; Stroop Test; Studies; Task Performance and Analysis
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.088

Meditation is a mental training, which involves attention and the ability to maintain focus on a particular object. In this study we have applied a specific attentional task to simply measure the performance of the participants with different levels of meditation experience, rather than evaluating meditation practice per se or task performance during meditation. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of regular meditators and non-meditators during an fMRI adapted Stroop Word-Colour Task (SWCT), which requires attention and impulse control, using a block design paradigm. We selected 20 right-handed regular meditators and 19 non-meditators matched for age, years of education and gender. Participants had to choose the colour (red, blue or green) of single words presented visually in three conditions: congruent, neutral and incongruent. Non-meditators showed greater activity than meditators in the right medial frontal, middle temporal, precentral and postcentral gyri and the lentiform nucleus during the incongruent conditions. No regions were more activated in meditators relative to non-meditators in the same comparison. Non-meditators showed an increased pattern of brain activation relative to regular meditators under the same behavioural performance level. This suggests that meditation training improves efficiency, possibly via improved sustained attention and impulse control. ► An fMRI adapted Stroop Word-Color Task (an attention task) was applied in two groups. ► Non-meditators showed greater brain activity than meditators in the comparisons. ► No brain regions were more activated in meditators relative to non-meditators. ► Behavioural performance was equivalent in both groups. ► Meditation training can increase brain efficiency in attention and impulse control.