Santarnecchi Emiliano, Egiziano Eutizio, D'Arista Sicilia, Gardi Concetta, Romanella Sara M, Mencarelli Lucia, Rossi Simone, Reda Mario, Rossi Alessandro
Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Neurological, Neurosurgical and Behavioral Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
J Neurosci Res. 2021 May;99(5):1236-1252. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24798. Epub 2021 Feb 26.
Mindfulness is a meditation practice frequently associated with changes in subjective evaluation of cognitive and sensorial experience, as well as with modifications of brain activity and morphometry. Aside from the anatomical localization of functional changes induced by mindfulness practice, little is known about changes in functional and effective functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) connectivity. Here we performed a connectivity fMRI analysis in a group of healthy individuals participating in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training program. Data from both a "mind-wandering" and a "meditation" state were acquired before and after the MBSR course. Results highlighted decreased local connectivity after training in the right anterior putamen and insula during spontaneous mind-wandering and the right cerebellum during the meditative state. A further effective connectivity analysis revealed (a) decreased modulation by the anterior cingulate cortex over the anterior portion of the putamen, and (b) a change in left and right posterior putamen excitatory input and inhibitory output with the cerebellum, respectively. Results suggest a rearrangement of dorsal striatum functional and effective connectivity in response to mindfulness practice, with changes in cortico-subcortical-cerebellar modulatory dynamics. Findings might be relevant for the understanding of widely documented mindfulness behavioral effects, especially those related to pain perception.
正念是一种冥想练习,常与认知和感官体验的主观评价变化以及大脑活动和形态测量的改变相关联。除了正念练习引起的功能变化的解剖定位外,关于功能磁共振成像(fMRI)连接性和有效功能磁共振成像连接性的变化知之甚少。在此,我们对一组参与为期8周的基于正念减压(MBSR)训练计划的健康个体进行了连接性fMRI分析。在MBSR课程前后,采集了“走神”和“冥想”状态下的数据。结果显示,训练后,在自发走神时右侧前壳核和脑岛以及冥想状态下右侧小脑的局部连接性降低。进一步的有效连接性分析显示:(a)前扣带回皮质对壳核前部的调节作用降低;(b)左侧和右侧后壳核与小脑之间的兴奋性输入和抑制性输出分别发生了变化。结果表明,响应正念练习,背侧纹状体的功能和有效连接性发生了重新排列,皮质-皮质下-小脑调节动力学也发生了变化。这些发现可能有助于理解广泛记录的正念行为效应,尤其是那些与疼痛感知相关的效应。