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Abstract Background Sahaja Yoga Meditation draws on many religious traditions and uses a variety of techniques including Christian prayer to reach a state known as thoughtless awareness, or mental silence. While there are many studies on the neural correlates of meditation, few studies have focused on the neural correlates of praying. Thus, the aim of our research was to study the neural activity associated with the prayer practices in Sahaja Yoga Mediation, which have not been studied before, to explore effects beyond repetitive speech or “mantra effects”. Sixteen experienced Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners were scanned using task based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging while performing formalised and improvised forms of praying and their equivalent secular tasks. Results Our results showed the deactivation of bilateral thalamus during both prayers compared to secular conditions and the activation in the medial prefrontal cortex that was reduced by religious and formalised secular speech conditions but increased during improvised secular speech; similarly, frontal regions were deactivated when comparing prayers to their secular equivalents. Discussion These results seem to depict two important factors related with praying in Sahaja Yoga Meditation merging inner concentration and social cognition. First, the perception of the surroundings mediated by the thalamus may be decreased during these prayers probably due to the establishment of inner concentration and, second, frontal deactivation effects could be related to reduced social judgement and ‘mentalizing’, particularly in the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that praying by Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners is neurophenomenologically different from the social cognitive attempt of praying within Christian praying practices.

ObjectiveTo study the white matter connections between anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula and amygdala as key regions of the frontal-limbic network that have been related to meditation.DesignTwenty experienced practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation and twenty nonmeditators matched on age, gender and education level, were scanned using Diffusion Weighted Imaging, using a 3T scanner, and their white matter connectivity was compared using diffusion tensor imaging analyses.ResultsThere were five white matter fiber paths in which meditators showed a larger number of tracts, two of them connecting the same area in both hemispheres: the left and right amygdalae and the left and right anterior insula; and the other three connecting left anterior cingulate with the right anterior insula, the right amygdala and the left amygdala. On the other hand, non-meditators showed larger number of tracts in two paths connecting the left anterior insula with the left amygdala, and the left anterior insula with the left anterior cingulate.ConclusionsThe study shows that long-term practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation is associated with larger white matter tracts strengthening interhemispheric connections between limbic regions and connections between cingulo-amygdalar and cingulo-insular brain regions related to top-down attentional and emotional processes as well as between top-down control functions that could potentially be related to the witness state perceived through the state of mental silence promoted with this meditation. On the other hand, reduced connectivity strength in left anterior insula in the meditation group could be associated to reduced emotional processing affecting top-down processes.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic that hit Spain during March 2020 forced the strict confinement of the population for 2 months. The objectives of this study were (a) to assess the magnitude and duration of the influence of confinement on people’s Distress, (b) to study the temporal sequence of stress, and (c) to show how different day-to-day activities and personal variables influence perceived Distress levels.Method: A daily registration was completed by 123 people, with ages ranging from 21 to 75 years old (X¯ = 43, SD = 10 years), of which there were 40 men (32%) and 83 females (68%). During 45 days of lockdown, from March 19th to May 3rd, participants were asked to respond to a socio-demographic survey and make daily records comprising the MASQ-D30 and some day-to-day behaviors. Pooled time series was applied to establish what effect time had on the dependent variable.Results: Distress has a 14-day autoregressive function and gender, physical activity, sexual activity, listening to music, and teleworking also influence Distress. It has been hypothesized that the intercept presents variability at level 2 (individual), but it has not been significant. Interactions between Gender—Telecommuting, and Gender—Physical Activity were observed. Approximately 66% of the variance of Distress was explained (R2 = 0.663).Discussion: At the beginning of the lockdown, the average levels of Distress were well above the levels of the end (z = 3.301). The individuals in the sample have followed a very similar process in the development of Distress. During the lockdown, the “memory” of Distress was 2 weeks. Our results indicate that levels of Distress depend on activities during lockdown. Interactions exist between gender and some behavioral variables that barely influence Distress in men but decrease Distress in women. The importance of routine maintenance and gender differences must be considered to propose future interventions during confinement.

Neuroscience research has shown that meditation practices have effects on brain structure and function. However, few studies have combined information on the effects on structure and function in the same sample. Long-term daily meditation practice produces repeated activity of specific brain networks over years of practice, which may induce lasting structural and functional connectivity (FC) changes within relevant circuits. The aim of our study was therefore to identify differences in FC during the resting state between 23 Sahaja Yoga Meditation experts and 23 healthy participants without meditation experience. Seed-based FC analysis was performed departing from voxels that had shown structural differences between these same participants. The contrast of connectivity maps yielded that meditators showed increased FC between the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex but reduced FC between the left insula and the bilateral mid-cingulate as well as between the right angular gyrus and the bilateral precuneus/cuneus cortices. It thus appears that long-term meditation practice increases direct FC between ventral and dorsal frontal regions within brain networks related to attention and cognitive control and decreases FC between regions of these networks and areas of the default mode network.

The dopaminergic system provides the basis for the interaction between motivation and cognition. It is triggered by the possibility of obtaining rewards to initiate the neurobehavioral adaptations necessary to achieve them by directing the information from motivational circuits to cognitive and action circuits. In drug addiction, the altered dopamine (DA) modulation of the meso-cortico-limbic reward circuitry, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), underlies the disproportionate motivational value of drug use at the expense of other non-drug reinforcers and the user's loss of control over his/her drug intake. We examine how the magnitude of the reward affects goal-directed processes in healthy control (HC) subjects and abstinent cocaine dependent (ACD) patients by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a counting Stroop task with blocked levels of monetary incentives of different magnitudes (€0, €0.01, €0.5, €1 or €1.5). Our results showed that increasing reward magnitude enhances (1) performance facilitation in both groups; (2) left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity in HC and left superior occipital cortex activity in ACD; and (3) left DLPFC and left putamen connectivity in ACD compared to HC. Moreover, we observed that (4) dorsal striatal and pallidum activity was associated with craving and addiction severity during the parametric increases in the monetary reward. In conclusion, the brain response to gradients in monetary value was different in HC and ACD, but both groups showed improved task performance due to the possibility of obtaining greater monetary rewards.

The topic of investigating how mindfulness meditation training can have antidepressant effects via plastic changes in both resting state and meditation state brain activity is important in the rapidly emerging field of neuroplasticity. In the present study, we used a longitudinal design investigating resting state fMRI both before and after 40 days of meditation training in 13 novices. After training, we compared differences in network connectivity between rest and meditation using common resting state functional connectivity methods. Interregional methods were paired with local measures such as Regional Homogeneity. As expected, significant differences in functional connectivity both between states (rest versus meditation) and between time points (before versus after training) were observed. During meditation, the internal consistency in the precuneus and the temporoparietal junction increased, while the internal consistency of frontal brain regions decreased. A follow-up analysis of regional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex further revealed reduced connectivity with anterior insula during meditation. After meditation training, reduced resting state functional connectivity between the pregenual anterior cingulate and dorsal medical prefrontal cortex was observed. Most importantly, significantly reduced depression/anxiety scores were observed after training. Hence, these findings suggest that mindfulness meditation might be of therapeutic use by inducing plasticity related network changes altering the neuronal basis of affective disorders such as depression.

Current perspectives on cognitive control acknowledge that individual differences in motivational dispositions may modulate cognitive processes in the absence of reward contingencies. This work aimed to study the relationship between individual differences in Behavioral Activation System (BAS) sensitivity and the neural underpinnings involved in processing a switching cue in a task-switching paradigm. BAS sensitivity was hypothesized to modulate brain activity in frontal regions, ACC and the striatum. Twenty-eight healthy participants underwent fMRI while performing a switching task, which elicited activity in fronto-striatal regions during the processing of the switch cue. BAS sensitivity was negatively associated with activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and the ventral striatum. Combined with previous results, our data indicate that BAS sensitivity modulates the neurocognitive processes involved in task switching in a complex manner depending on task demands. Therefore, individual differences in motivational dispositions may influence cognitive processing in the absence of reward contingencies.

Previous investigations have used global graph theory measures in order to disentangle the complexity of the neural reorganizations occurring in cocaine use disorder (CUD). However, how these global topological alterations map into individual brain network areas remains unknown. In this study, we used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to investigate node-level topological dysfunctions in CUD. The sample was composed of 32 individuals with CUD and 32 healthy controls, matched in age, years of education and intellectual functioning. Graph theory measures of optimal connectivity distance, node strength, nodal efficiency and clustering coefficient were estimated in each participant using voxel-wise functional connectivity connectomes. CUD individuals as compared with healthy controls showed higher optimal connectivity distances in ventral striatum, insula, cerebellum, temporal cortex, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, middle frontal cortex and left hippocampus. Furthermore, clinical measures quantifying severity of dependence were positively related with optimal connectivity distances in the right rolandic operculum and the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, whereas length of abstinence was negatively associated with optimal connectivity distances in the right temporal pole and the left insula. Our results reveal a topological distancing of cognitive and affective related areas in addiction, suggesting an overall reduction in the communication capacity of these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavioral approach system (BAS) from Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory is a neurobehavioral system involved in the processing of rewarding stimuli that has been related to dopaminergic brain areas. Gray's theory hypothesizes that the functioning of reward brain areas is modulated by BAS-related traits. To test this hypothesis, we performed an fMRI study where participants viewed erotic and neutral pictures, and cues that predicted their appearance. Forty-five heterosexual men completed the Sensitivity to Reward scale (from the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire) to measure BAS-related traits. Results showed that Sensitivity to Reward scores correlated positively with brain activity during reactivity to erotic pictures in the left orbitofrontal cortex, left insula, and right ventral striatum. These results demonstrated a relationship between the BAS and reward sensitivity during the processing of erotic stimuli, filling the gap of previous reports that identified the dopaminergic system as a neural substrate for the BAS during the processing of other rewarding stimuli such as money and food.