SynthesisBioMed research international2015
The Meditative Mind: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of MRI Studies.
Synthesis in BioMed research international, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- What fMRI studies say about the nature of the psychedelic effect: a scoping review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Mindfulness-based randomized controlled trials led to brain structural changes: an anatomical likelihood meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Do mindfulness-based interventions change brain function in people with substance dependence? A systematic review of the fMRI evidence.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Mindfulness related changes in grey matter: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain imaging and behavior · 2021Pooled it
- Meditation: Evidence Map of Systematic Reviews.Frontiers in public health · 2021Pooled it
- Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Posterior cingulate cortex downregulation training using fMRI neurofeedback in adolescents with early life adversity exposure: a randomized, single-blind trial.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of Neurofeedback-Assisted and Conventional 6-Week Web-Based Mindfulness Interventions on Mental Health of Chinese Nursing Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Effects of an online mindfulness-based intervention on brain haemodynamics: a pilot randomized controlled trial using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2024Trial
- Good vibrations: Sternal vibration enhances white matter density and interoceptive awareness.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Comprehensive review on the benefits and physiological basis of yoga.World journal of methodology · 2026Review
- A mindfulness-based intervention to reduce altered brain reward function in cannabis use disorder: a double-blind, active and passive, randomised controlled fMRI trial.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Illuminating consciousness.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Good vibrations: Sternal vibration enhances white matter density and interoceptive awareness.Research square · 2025Article
- Gray and White Matter Networks Predict Mindfulness and Mind Wandering Traits: A Data Fusion Machine Learning Approach.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Unlocking deep relaxation: the power of rhythmic breathing on brain rhythms.Npj mental health research · 2025Article
- Experienced meditators show greater forward traveling cortical alpha wave strengths.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
- Psychoneuroimmunology of Mindfulness: What works, how it works, and for whom?Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- ENIGMA-Meditation: Worldwide Consortium for Neuroscientific Investigations of Meditation Practices.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025Review
- Intracranial substrates of meditation-induced neuromodulation in the amygdala and hippocampus.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Over the past decade mind and body practices, such as yoga and meditation, have raised interest in different scientific fields; in particular, the physiological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects observed in meditators have been investigated. Neuroimaging studies have studied the effects of meditation on brain structure and function and findings have helped clarify the biological underpinnings of the positive effects of meditation practice and the possible integration of this technique in standard therapy. The large amount of data collected thus far allows drawing some conclusions about the neural effects of meditation practice. In the present study we used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analysis to make a coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging data on the effects of meditation on brain structure and function. Results indicate that meditation leads to activation in brain areas involved in processing self-relevant information, self-regulation, focused problem-solving, adaptive behavior, and interoception. Results also show that meditation practice induces functional and structural brain modifications in expert meditators, especially in areas involved in self-referential processes such as self-awareness and self-regulation. These results demonstrate that a biological substrate underlies the positive pervasive effect of meditation practice and suggest that meditation techniques could be adopted in clinical populations and to prevent disease.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.