What happens to brain connections when we meditate in different ways?

Although meditation is often described as a single practice, it encompasses a range of distinct mental approaches. Some forms aim to keep attention focused on a single object, others encourage an open awareness of experience, while others cultivate feelings of kindness and compassion. A new study suggests that each type of meditation is associated with its own pattern of communication between different brain regions, revealing distinct neural signatures for different meditation practices.

The research was conducted by an international team of scientists who studied 22 highly experienced meditators. Using electroencephalography (EEG), the researchers recorded brain activity during rest and during three meditation practices: focused attention meditation, open monitoring meditation, and loving-kindness meditation (Metta meditation). Using a technique known as Granger causality, they analysed the strength, frequency, and direction of information flow between different brain regions.

The results showed that focused attention meditation was associated with a reduction in information flow from posterior to anterior brain regions, particularly in the alpha and beta frequency bands. A decrease in communication between frontal areas of the two hemispheres was also observed. The researchers suggest that this pattern may be associated with a reduced influence of sensory signals and other sources of distraction, supporting sustained concentration on a single object, such as the breath.

Open monitoring meditation, in contrast, showed a different pattern. The researchers found increased communication between regions in the two cerebral hemispheres, particularly towards areas of the right hemisphere associated with processing what is happening both within us and around us. According to the authors, this pattern may reflect brain mechanisms consistent with a broader and more receptive state of awareness, characteristic of this practice, in which thoughts, emotions, and sensations are observed as they arise without becoming attached to any of them.

Loving-kindness meditation, meanwhile, was characterised by a more symmetrical pattern between the hemispheres, with bidirectional communication between anterior and posterior regions and a particularly strong involvement of beta oscillations. According to the researchers, this configuration may reflect greater integration between brain networks involved in emotional regulation, perspective-taking, and social processes. The symmetry observed between the hemispheres was interpreted by the authors as being consistent with a balance between different systems involved in emotional processing, a feature that aligns with the cultivation of compassion and kindness in this form of meditation.

The authors conclude that each style of meditation is associated with its own profile of brain connectivity. While focused attention meditation appears to support the reduction of distracting influences, open monitoring meditation is associated with an expansion of awareness, and loving-kindness meditation with a pattern consistent with emotional balance and positive attitudes towards others.

This study was conducted within the framework of project 272/20 – Advancements on the Aware Mind-Brain: New Insights about the Neural Correlates of Meditation States and Traits, led by Antonino Raffone and supported by the Bial Foundation. The findings were published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience in the article Distinct Patterns of Directed Brain Connectivity in Focused Attention, Open Monitoring, and Loving Kindness Meditation: An Electroencephalographic Granger Causality Study with Long-term Meditators.

ABSTRACT

The present study applied spectral Granger causality (GC) analysis to EEG recordings obtained during focused attention meditation (FAM), open monitoring meditation (OMM), and loving kindness meditation (LKM) in highly experienced meditators. The aim of the investigation was to characterize distinct connectivity signatures associated with each meditation style by examining the strength, frequency, and direction of interregional interactions. These differences were expected to specify the neural connectivity profiles of the cognitive and affective state of each meditative practice. Multivariate GC was computed from high-resolution EEG signals recorded from long-term meditators (n = 22) in four conditions: rest, FAM, OMM, and LKM. GC was analyzed in the frequency domain for key electrode clusters (anterior and posterior) in the two hemispheres to compare frequency-specific directed connectivity between rest and each meditation type. Main results demonstrated that each meditation state produced highly specific alterations in directed influences relative to rest. In FAM, there was significant reduction in posterior-to-anterior GC in the alpha and beta bands as well as decreased multispectral interhemispheric frontal GC implying attenuated bottom–up sensory and associative inputs. In OMM, multispectral GC was significantly increased from the left hemisphere to the right posterior cluster implying expanded awareness in the right posterior regions through enhanced top–down modulation by the left hemisphere. The distinctive features of LKM profile were the interhemispheric symmetry, the posterior–anterior bidirectionality, and the specific beta-band engagement, implying a coactivation of systems that support an emotionally balanced stance, equanimity, and prosocial attitude. These novel findings demonstrate that the direction and frequency specificity of information flows provide complementary insights into neural processes underlying distinct meditative states.