Neurological research has identified distinct brain patterns associated with Buddhist enlightenment.
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Neuroscientific studies examining advanced Buddhist meditative states demonstrate distinct functional brain reorganization, such as altered functional connectivity gradients and structural changes in long-term practitioners.
Meditation has been integral to human culture for millennia, deeply rooted in various spiritual and contemplative traditions. While the field of contemplative science has made significant steps toward understanding the effects of meditation on health and well-being, there has been little study of advanced meditative states, including those achieved through intense concentration and absorption. We refer to these types of states as advanced concentrative absorption meditation (ACAM), characterized by absorption with the meditation object leading to states of heightened attention, clarity, energy, effortlessness, and bliss. This review focuses on a type of ACAM known as jhana (ACAM-J) due to its well-documented history, systematic practice approach, recurring phenomenological themes, and growing popularity among contemplative scientists and more generally in media and society. ACAM-J encompasses eight layers of deep concentration, awareness, and internal experiences. Here, we describe the phenomenology of ACAM-J and present evidence from phenomenological and neuroscientific studies that highlight their potential applications in contemplative practices, psychological sciences, and therapeutics. We additionally propose theoretical ACAM-J frameworks grounded in current cognitive neuroscientific understanding of meditation and ancient contemplative traditions. We aim to stimulate further research on ACAM more broadly, encompassing advanced meditation including meditative development and meditative endpoints. Studying advanced meditation including ACAM, and specific practices such as ACAM-J, can potentially revolutionize our understanding of consciousness and applications for mental health.
See Table 2 for more details on the five mental hindrances. Table 2 Five mental hindrances, five mental attributes, and seven mental factors of enlightenment associated with the development of ACAM-J. The five mental hindrances are characterized by framing responses to and evaluation of external stimuli are framed in relation to a sense of “self” and are obstacles to the success of experiencing ACAM-J. In contrast, the five mental factors and seven mental factors of enlightenment are mental qualities that are said to help the meditator maintains focus on the meditation object.
Additionally, changes in non-cortical regions were observed, including increased ReHo and decreased ReHo in nuclei of the thalamus, putamen, caudate, hippocampus, reticular formation, other brainstem nuclei, and cerebellum, when comparing different ACAM-J milestones with the control conditions. In correlational analyses, the authors demonstrated that attentional qualities were positively associated with ReHo in the posterior cortices and negatively associated with ReHo in the anterior cortices, further demonstrating the anterior-posterior re-organization of the brain during ACAM-J.
Although the studies demonstrated feasibility and reliability of investigating the neural correlates of ACAM-J, neuroscientific understanding of these states remains limited. This is partly due to the lack of eligible and available candidates who can reach these refined states of consciousness, more so in constricted research environments or an insufficient understanding of them. Additionally, conducting case studies on advanced meditative states like ACAM-J with only a single session may present challenges in ruling out alternative explanations for observed brain activity [ 21 ].
Therefore, factors such as MRI sounds or individual differences must be considered in designing such studies. Finally, only one study included a neurophenomenological analysis of ACAM-J [ 22 ]. While Hagerty et al. (2013) revealed that brain activations were associated with the theoretical phenomenology of ACAM-J, phenomenological data was not collected to support their claim. Neurophenomenological analysis is vital for research like advanced meditation as these neurophenomenology has thus been proposed as an effective method to study these non-ordinary states of consciousness [ 89 , 90 ].
Moreover, meditators have shown improved social skills such as perspective-taking and empathic concern compared to non-mediators [ 107 ]. We speculate that this may be attributed to self-transcendence experienced during ACAM-J [ 108 ]. Together, while preliminary at best due to limited studies on ACAM-J, current evidence suggest that ACAM-J has the potential to enhance intrinsic motivation and social interactions due to brain activity changes in regions associated with reward processing and arousal.
Thus, ACAM-J represents a significant area of study with the potential to contribute to mental health therapies, improve cognitive and emotional functioning, and enrich our understanding of the dynamics between consciousness, the self, and the brain. 5 Integrated frameworks and models We provide three possible and current frameworks or models within meditation research that may explain ACAM-J conceptually. These are the (1) many-to-(n)one model of the predictive mind; (2) RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS) and the anarchic brain model; and (3) connectome harmonics model.
These harmonic modes are ubiquitous across natural phenomena, ranging from acoustic vibrations and electron orbits to animal coat patterns. Connectome harmonics have been proposed to be the fundamental building blocks of brain function, giving rise to neural activity patterns that underlie cognition and behavior. Although a relatively new theory and research is still in its infancy, there has been evidence that it may provide a valuable framework for understanding brain function and disorders.
Both models suggest a kind of ‘ letting go ’ of narrative thinking, very similar to the phenomenology of ACAM-J. Thus, these two models highlight a common neurocognitive mechanism where reductions in narrative processing leads to states of consciousness characterized by heightened sensory clarity and openness, such as ACAM-J.
There is growing scientific interest in advanced meditation, and particularly the Theravada Buddhist advanced concentrative absorption meditation known as jhana (ACAM-J). ACAM-J includes a series of eight consecutive meditative states, which are radically altered states of consciousness. The neuroscience of ACAM-J, specifically brain reorganization, remains underspecified in part due to the difficulty of finding and studying expert ACAM-J meditators and challenges related to laboratory investigation of ACAM-J. Using a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique applied to human functional neuroimaging in an intensive case study, we investigated brain reorganization during ACAM-J. We applied linear mixed models and correlations to explore relations among brain reorganization and ACAM-J phenomenology. Results demonstrated that ACAM-J induces disruption of the hierarchical organization of the brain by shifting the gradients toward a more globally integrated rather than segregated state between sensory-related and higher-order cognitive regions. Additionally, ACAM-J induces a separation between sensory-related and attention modulation-related regions, resulting in greater differentiation in functional organization of these regions, consistent with phenomenological reports. This study highlights the need for further research into brain reorganization and health-related implications of both short-term and long-term practice of ACAM-J. Key points/highlights The neuroscience of advanced concentrative absorption meditation (ACAM) has the potential to improve our knowledge of well-being and altered states of consciousness but remains underexplored due to methodological challenges. We investigated functional reorganization of the brain during ACAM-J using gradient analysis and demonstrated that ACAM-J disrupts the hierarchical organization of the brain during meditation. Additionally, we demonstrated that ACAM-J increases differentiation between primary sensory areas and area
The diffusion map embedding algorithm captures continuous and hierarchical relationships between the functional connectivity of brain regions while simultaneously preserving local neighborhood relationships, or the similarity between nearby brain regions in terms of their connectivity patterns. Gradient analysis results in values at the extreme ends of the gradient space that represent continuous transitions that are not confined to discrete network boundaries ( Margulies et al. 2016 ).
First, psychedelic experiences often include decreased self-referential thought and external awareness ( Studerus et al. 2011 ; Preller et al. 2017 ); these subjective experiences are similar to those described in advanced meditation ( Millière et al. 2018 ; Metzinger 2020 ; Yang et al. 2024b ). Meditation is also associated with altered brain activity in brain areas related to self-referential thought and awareness ( Hagerty et al. 2013 ; Taylor et al. 2013 ; Yang et al. 2024a ) that are similar to those found in psychedelics ( Millière et al. 2018 ; Girn et al. 2022 ).
Thus, both advanced meditation and psychedelic states share similar qualitative characteristics and may thus share underlying patterns of brain activity ( Venkatesh et al. 1997 ; Hagerty et al. 2013 ; Yang et al. 2024a ). In this context, we investigated cortical functional reorganization of the brain during ACAM-J using gradient analysis. We specifically addressed two questions: (i) Are the principal and secondary gradients altered during ACAM-J compared to non-meditative control conditions? And (ii) Are gradient alterations during ACAM-J associated with unique ACAM-J phenomenology?
Neurophenomenology results also revealed that negative gradient values within the precuneus and PCC, both important regions of the DMN and CN, were associated with higher stability of attention and intensity of ACAM-J and lower early sensations of the narrative thought stream. The precuneus, a core component of the DMN, plays an important role in executive function ( Yeager et al. 2022 ). We previously found correlations between brain activity in the precuneus and attentional qualities during ACAM-J ( Yang et al. 2024b ).
These observations support the idea that as the functional connectivity patterns in the brain become more globally integrated, moving away from the extreme transmodal end of the gradient, ACAM-J meditators may experience a decrease in narrative thoughts and an increase in present-centered awareness. However, given the lack of multiple comparison correction, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary and require further hypothesis-driven research. We also observed changes at the unimodal end of the principal gradient, especially in the DAN (postcentral gyrus) and SN (insula, parietal, and frontal operculum).
Nevertheless, the findings of the study, particularly the alignment between the participant’s phenomenological reports with changes observed in functional organization of the brain during ACAM-J, underscore the value of this study and highlight the necessity for future research involving multiple participants to validate and extend these findings. Second, as mentioned previously, the participant reported involuntarily experiencing meditative states during the initial trials of both control conditions. Although, this was observed with reduced intensity compared to the ACAM-J.
Additionally, ACAM-J appears to separate connectivity patterns in sensory-related areas from attention modulation-related areas, thereby increasing the differentiation between primary sensory areas and those involved in attention modulation. These findings not only enhance our understanding of the brain during advanced meditation but also offer opportunities for further research into its long-term effects, safe practice ( Wright et al. 2024 ), and the potential therapeutic applications of advanced meditation.
ng to calm the mind and reduce distractions, but as FA advances, the cultivation of the monitoring skill per se becomes the main focus of practice. The aim is to reach a state in which no explicit focus on a specific object is retained; instead, one remains only in the monitoring state, attentive moment-by-moment to anything that occurs in experience.
These two common styles of meditation are often combined, whether in a single session or over the course of practitioner's training. These styles are found with some variation in several meditation systems, including the Buddhist Vipassanā and Mahāmudrā and are also implicated in many popular secular interventions that draw on Buddhist practices. Findings of Brain Changes in Meditation
In what follows we summarize the changes in the brain that occur during each of these styles of meditation practice. Such changes include alterations in patterns of brain function assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), changes in the cortical evoked response to visual stimuli that reflect the impact of meditation on attention, and alterations in amplitude and synchrony of high frequency oscillations that probably play an important role in connectivity among widespread circuitry in the brain.
Experimental Setup
The experiments described below that measure hemodynamic changes with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) require a high field strength MRI scanner equipped with the appropriate pulse sequences to acquire data rapidly and with the necessary fiber optic stimulus delivery devices so that visual stimuli can be presented to the subject while he or she lays in the bore of the magnet. For the studies that measure brain electrical activity, a high-density recording system with between 64 and 256 electrodes on the scalp surface is used. FA Meditation
A recent study [ 4 ] used fMRI to interrogate the neural correlates of FA meditation in experts and novices. The study compared FA meditation on an external visua
Over the past several years, he has helped recruit Tibetan Buddhist monks for, and directly encouraged research on the brain and meditation in the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The findings from studies in this unusual sample as well as related research efforts, suggest that, over the course of meditating for tens of thousands of hours, the long-term practitioners had actually altered the structure and function of their brains. In this article we discuss neuroplasticity, which encompasses such alterations, and the findings from these studies.
Findings of Brain Changes in Meditation In what follows we summarize the changes in the brain that occur during each of these styles of meditation practice. Such changes include alterations in patterns of brain function assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), changes in the cortical evoked response to visual stimuli that reflect the impact of meditation on attention, and alterations in amplitude and synchrony of high frequency oscillations that probably play an important role in connectivity among widespread circuitry in the brain.
The study compared FA meditation on an external visual point to a rest condition during which participants do not use meditation and are simply instructed to adopt a neutral baseline state. The meditation condition was associated with activation in multiple brain regions implicated in monitoring (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), engaging attention (visual cortex), and attentional orienting (e.g., the superior frontal sulcus, the supplementary motor area, and the intraparietal sulcus).
Although this meditation-related activation pattern was generally stronger for long-term-practitioners compared to novices, activity in many brain areas involved in FA meditation showed in an inverted u-shaped curve for both classes of subjects. Whereas expert meditators with an average of 19,000 hours of practice showed stronger activation in these areas than the novices, expert meditators with an average of 44,000 practice hours showed less activation. This inverted u-shaped function resembles the learning curve associated with skill acquisition in other domains of expertise, such as language acquisition.
( b ) the reduction in P3b amplitude (a brain-potential index of resource allocation) to the first of two target stimuli (T1 and T2) presented in a rapid stream of distracter stimuli after three months of intensive Vipassana meditation [ 3 ] ( c ) shows that generally, the greater the reduction in brain-resource allocation to T1 was over time, the better able an individual became at accurately identifying T2 (adapted from [ 3 ]). ( d-e ) Example of high-amplitude gamma activity during a form of OM meditation, non-referential compassion meditation, in long-term Buddhist practitioners [ 4 ].
This is illustrated in Figure 1(B) , which shows the reduction in P3B amplitude (a brain-potential index of resource allocation). In this figure, the scalp-recorded brain potentials from electrode Pz, time-locked to T1 onset as a function of T2 accuracy (detected (no-blink) vs. not detected (blink)), time (before or after three months), and group (practitioners vs. novices) are shown. The scalp map shows electrode sites where this three-way interaction was significant between 420 and 440ms. The reduction in brain-resource allocation to T1 was associated with a smaller attentional blink to T2, as shown in Figure 1(C) .
In the initial baseline, the relative gamma was already higher for the practitioners than the controls and correlated with the length of the long-term practitioners' meditation training through life (adapted from [ 6 ]). SP Challenges While SP has a unique opportunity to contribute to this novel effort to chart the manner in which the brain may be transformed through the mental practice of meditation, there are several associated challenges.
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