Neuroimaging reveals distinct patterns of brain activation

Past research suggests that meditation and exposure to art or nature can positively impact people’s well-being and brain health, in some cases even reducing stress and supporting the processing of emotions. Yet most past studies focused on each of these experiences individually, rather than comparing their effects on brain activity.

Researchers at University of California Los Angeles set out to examine the brain activation patterns associated with a visualization-based transcendental meditation of connecting to the cosmic soul and compare them to those from people watching evocative digital art or nature videos.

Their findings, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, suggest that these different types of transcending experiences prompt different brain activation patterns.

“We recruited nine healthy adults with low levels of stress and anxiety and exposed them in the fMRI scanner to the videos of digital art by Rafik Anandol, nature videos of the national parks and compared these conditions to rest and meditation,” Dr. Helen Lavretsky, senior author of the paper, told Medical Xpress.

“We trained participants to perform a transcendental meditation on the cosmic soul while watching star nebula videos. Watching videos was the common component between the conditions to control for visual stimulation that activated the visual cortex.”

After teaching nine participants a transcendental meditation practice, the researchers asked them to complete this practice with their head inside an fMRI scanner so that they could record their brain activity. The team also recorded the participants’ brain activity in the scanner while they were watching nature videos and while they were watching digital art created by the Turkish-born visual artist Refik Anadol, who is a faculty member at UCLA.

“We found that compared to rest, meditation led to blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) increases in the bilateral lateral occipital and fusiform gyri, as well as the right postcentral gyrus and hippocampus,” explained Dr. Lavretsky.

“Compared to viewing AI-generated digital art, increased BOLD responses during meditation were observed in the left parietal and central operculum, and right pre- and postcentral gyri, and compared to nature, they were observed in the left parietal operculum, bilateral postcentral and supramarginal gyri, and bilateral lateral occipital cortices.”

With their newly devised experimental paradigm, the researchers were able to explore the unique neural signatures of three distinct “transcending” human experiences that could hold some potential for reducing stress.

Their results suggest that the brain regions activated by these three types of experiences differ significantly, which could help to better understand the neural processes by which they could bring pleasure and boost well-being.

“Compared to rest, meditation showed brain activation in regions associated with object, sensory, and memory processing,” said Dr. Lavretsky.

“Compared to watching nature videos, meditation led to activity in bilateral sensory and object processing areas, as well as a left sensory integration region (error monitoring), while when compared to watching art videos, meditation showed activity in left sensory integration and right sensorimotor regions.”

While the sample of participants who took part in the recent project is relatively small, the results gathered by these researchers could inspire more research studies assessing the neural signatures and therapeutic effects of transcendental meditation, observing nature and exposure to digital art.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lavretsky and her colleagues are planning to conduct additional studies of their own, to further explore the potential of contemplative experiences for reducing stress and improving well-being.

“Further studies are needed to delineate the distinct neural signature and therapeutic effects of inner contemplation using human connection to art, nature, or meditative transcendent practices, in the brain and its potential in clinical applications,” added Dr. Lavretsky.

“In our next works, we will continue to address the role of spiritual neuroscience and neuroesthetics in documenting the neural mechanisms of human experience of transcendence, and in seeking therapeutic solutions for stress-related disorders.”

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