The article “Functional Neuroanatomy of Meditation: A Review and Meta-Analysis” by Fox et al (2016) provides a comprehensive meta-analysis of 78 published brain imaging studies and selected 31 experiments that met strict scientific standards. These experiments included data from 527 people who practiced meditation.
The core focus of the study is on identifying distinct brain activation and deactivation patterns associated with different styles of meditation. To see what parts of the brain were active or quiet during meditation, the researchers used two types of brain scans:
- fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): shows which areas of the brain are active during certain mental tasks.
- PET (Positron Emission Tomography): also tracks brain activity by measuring blood flow or glucose use.
The goal was to find out whether different meditation practices activate different parts of the brain, and if so, how.
The following is an AI-aided summary of the findings from the study.
- Focused Attention (FA) Meditation
Description:
Focused attention meditation involves selecting a specific object of focus—most commonly the breath—and maintaining attention on it. When distractions (e.g., thoughts, emotions, sensations) arise, the practitioner notices them, disengages from them, and redirects attention back to the object. Over time, this strengthens the capacity for voluntary attention regulation, with reduced effort needed as skill increases.
Three cognitive components are particularly trained:
- Monitoring the location of attention.
- Disengaging from distractions.
- Reorienting attention to the chosen target.
What it does for the brain:
- Strengthens parts of the brain that help you pay attention, stay focused, and control distractions.
- Calms down areas of the brain that cause mind-wandering and self-criticism.
Brain Activations:
- Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC): involved in detecting conflict and sustaining attention.
- Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC): supports working memory and executive control over attention.
- Premotor cortex and supplementary motor area (SMA): associated with effortful control and attentional regulation.
- Frontopolar cortex (rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, BA 10): linked to metacognitive awareness and introspective monitoring.
Brain Deactivations:
- Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC): core node of the default mode network (DMN), often associated with self-referential processing and mind-wandering.
- Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC): another DMN region, related to self-evaluation and autobiographical thought.
- Mantra Recitation (MR) Meditation
Description:
This practice, popularized by techniques like Transcendental Meditation, uses the repetition of a word, sound, or phrase (mantra), either silently or aloud. Like FA, it aims to stabilize attention and prevent mind-wandering—but its object is a voluntary verbal-motor act rather than a passive sensory cue. It engages linguistic and motor planning systems distinct from other FA methods.
Because of this unique verbal nature, MR meditation is classified separately despite sharing regulatory aims with FA.
What it does for the brain:
- Activates brain areas related to speech, hearing, and rhythm, even if the words are only in your head.
- Reduces activity in parts of the brain that overthink or ruminate.
Helps with:
Reducing anxiety, calming the nervous system, and finding a peaceful rhythm in the mind.
Brain Activations:
- Premotor cortex and supplementary motor area (SMA): engaged in internally generated speech and motor control of articulation.
- Broca’s area (left inferior frontal gyrus): involved in subvocal articulation and speech planning.
- Superior temporal gyrus: processes inner auditory representations of the mantra.
- Basal ganglia (especially putamen): supports motor sequencing and rhythmic repetition.
- Fusiform gyrus: potentially reflects visual imagery or associative processing linked to mantras with symbolic meaning.
Brain Deactivations:
- Default mode network regions: decreased activity in PCC and mPFC, consistent with reduced autobiographical thinking.
- Anterior insula and visual association areas: suggesting decreased interoceptive and external sensory processing.
- Open Monitoring (OM) Meditation
Description:
OM begins with attending to present-moment experience and then maintaining non-reactive, open awareness of all mental events—thoughts, sensations, emotions—as they arise. The aim is to let go of elaborative thinking, allowing phenomena to come and go without suppression or judgment.
Unlike FA, OM does not direct attention to any specific object but instead cultivates a broad, receptive mode of awareness. It enhances interoceptive processing and supports transitions to non-dual or spacious awareness in advanced practice.
What it does for the brain:
- Boosts brain areas that help you tune into your body, manage emotions, and observe without reacting.
- Helps quiet the “mental chatter” that leads to stress and worry.
Helps with:
Emotional awareness, letting go of overreactions, and staying grounded in the present.
Brain Activations:
- Anterior insula: enhances awareness of internal bodily and emotional states (interoception).
- Anterior and mid-cingulate cortex: supports ongoing attentional monitoring and salience detection.
- Inferior frontal gyrus: contributes to cognitive inhibition and filtering of distractors.
- Premotor cortex and SMA: reflect the intentional stance of maintaining awareness.
- Temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) (occasionally observed): related to perspective-taking and self-other distinction.
Brain Deactivations:
- Thalamus (right-lateralized): may reflect reduced gating of sensory information.
- Less consistent suppression of DMN compared to FA, possibly due to open stance toward mental content rather than suppression.
- Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation (LK/CM)
Description:
These practices focus on cultivating positive emotional states toward oneself and others. Typically, practitioners begin with feelings of warmth and goodwill toward themselves, then extend them to loved ones, acquaintances, difficult individuals, and eventually all beings. Compassion meditation further emphasizes empathetic engagement with the suffering of others, often involving visualization or perspective-taking.
These practices aim to enhance altruistic motivation, sympathetic joy, and emotional empathy, and may blend elements of focused attention (on a target of compassion) or open monitoring (non-referential kindness).
What it does for the brain:
- Activates parts of the brain that help with empathy, emotional warmth, and caring for others.
- Encourages positive emotions and feelings of connection.
Helps with:
Increasing compassion, reducing anger or resentment, and building emotional resilience.
Brain Activations:
- Anterior insula: associated with emotional resonance and interoception.
- Somatosensory cortices (including postcentral gyrus): embodiment of affective states and emotional simulation.
- Medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and ventral striatum: involved in positive affect, reward processing, and affiliative emotion.
- Temporoparietal junction (TPJ): supports perspective-taking and theory of mind.
- Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC): linked to self-related and other-related emotional processing.
Brain Deactivations:
- Less consistently reported than other techniques; some studies suggest mild reductions in DMN regions during deep affective states, while others show sustained activity in these areas due to social-emotional content.
Common Benefits Across All Types
No matter which style you choose, meditation helps:
- Improve self-awareness and emotional regulation.
- Reduce stress and mental clutter.
- Strengthen the brain’s attention system and quiet the inner critic.
Shared Brain Regions Across Techniques
Across the four meditation styles, several brain areas are consistently activated, reflecting common processes such as attentional control, emotional awareness, and self-monitoring:
- Insular cortex: interoceptive awareness and emotional processing.
- Premotor cortex and SMA (BA6): effortful cognitive control.
- Dorsal anterior and mid-cingulate cortex: performance monitoring and attention shifting.
- Frontopolar cortex (BA 10): meta-awareness and mental flexibility.
Overall Takeaway
The study confirms that meditation practices engage distinct neural circuits in line with their psychological aims (e.g., attention, emotion regulation, compassion). Rather than a general “meditation network,” each technique recruits specific brain regions, supporting the hypothesis of neurophysiological dissociability of meditation styles.
Fox, K. C., Dixon, M. L., Nijeboer, S., Girn, M., Floman, J. L., Lifshitz, M., Ellamil, M., Sedlmeier, P., & Christoff, K. (2016). Functional neuroanatomy of meditation: A review and meta-analysis of 78 functional neuroimaging investigations. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 65, 208–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.021