RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Dynamical Properties of BOLD Activity from the Ventral Posteromedial Cortex Associated with Meditation and Attentional Skills
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 5242
OP 5249
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4135-11.2012
VO 32
IS 15
A1 Giuseppe Pagnoni
YR 2012
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/15/5242.abstract
AB Neuroimaging data suggest a link between the spontaneous production of thoughts during wakeful rest and slow fluctuations of activity in the default mode network (DMN), a set of brain regions with high basal metabolism and a major neural hub in the ventral posteromedial cortex (vPMC). Meta-awareness and regulation of mind-wandering are core cognitive components of most contemplative practices and to study their impact on DMN activity, we collected functional MRI (fMRI) data from a cohort of experienced Zen meditators and meditation-naive controls engaging in a basic attention-to-breathing protocol. We observed a significant group difference in the skewness of the fMRI BOLD signal from the vPMC, suggesting that the relative incidence of states of elevated vPMC activity was lower in meditators; furthermore, the same parameter was significantly correlated with performance on a rapid visual information processing (RVIP) test for sustained attention conducted outside the scanner. Finally, a functional connectivity analysis with the vPMC seed revealed a significant association of RVIP performance with the degree of temporal correlation between vPMC and the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), a region strongly implicated in stimulus-triggered reorienting of attention. Together, these findings suggest that the vPMC BOLD signal skewness and the temporal relationship of vPMC and TPJ activities reflect the dynamic tension between mind-wandering, meta-awareness, and directed attention, and may represent a useful endophenotype for studying individual differences in attentional abilities and the impairment of the latter in specific clinical conditions.