Brain imaging studies such as those using fMRI typically find that mindfulness meditation training decreases resting-state activity and neural connectivity within the brain’s default mode network (DMN) and increases connectivity between nodes of the DMN and the salience network.
The DMN is associated with mind-wandering and self-referential thinking, with the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) as a key hub. The salience network is associated with bodily and emotional awareness. This has led to speculation that neurofeedback could facilitate and enhance mindfulness training.
Neurofeedback Augmented Mindfulness Training (NAMT) is a newer approach that combines neurofeedback to decrease PCC activity with traditional instruction to cultivate non-judgmental awareness. Cosgrove et al. [Frontiers of Neuroscience] conducted a pilot study that explored fMRI resting-state brain functional connectivity before and after NAMT in a group of healthy adolescents.
They hypothesized NAMT would reduce connectivity between the PCC and other regions of the DMN while increasing connectivity between the PCC and regions of the salience network.
The researchers assigned 31 healthy adolescents (average age=15 years; 55% male; 74% White) who were part of a larger neuroimaging study to undergo fMRI while completing a variety of tasks, including an NAMT task. Participants completed pre- and post-fMRI self-report measures of perceived stress, mood, and mindfulness. Before imaging, they received a brief introduction to mindfulness, which included guided breath-focused meditation.
Participants then underwent fMRI scanning that included 1) an initial resting-state measure , 2) breath-focused mindfulness meditation with and without PCC neurofeedback, and 3) a concluding resting-state measure. In the neurofeedback condition, participants watched a bar on a screen that turned red when PCC activation increased and blue when it decreased. They were instructed that focusing on their breath would turn the bar blue, and mind-wandering would turn it red, and were encouraged to keep the bar blue. The fMRI data analysis compared resting-state connectivity before and after NAMT, rather than during NAMT.
The results showed significant resting-state increases in PCC connectivity with regions of the hippocampus and amygdala following the NAMT task. These connectivity changes were not associated with score changes on the self-reported psychological measures.
The findings did not support the hypothesis that NAMT training would decrease connectivity between the PCC and other DMN regions, though they did support the hypothesis of increased connectivity between the PCC and salience network regions. Greater PCC-salience network connectivity could theoretically linked to heightened emotional awareness, though this was not reflected in the psychological measures.
The pilot study observes changes in resting-state brain connectivity following brief neurofeedback-augmented mindfulness training but fails to show any associated psychological change scores associated with those connectivity changes.
The results differ somewhat from a previous study that sampled from a clinical adolescent population, found decreased DMN interconnectivity following neurofeedback, and linked connectivity changes to changes in self-report scores. Study limitations include the lack of a sham NAMT treatment to rule out placebo or time-related effects.
Reference:
Cosgrove, K. T., Tsuchiyagaito, A., Cohen, Z. P., Cochran, G., Yu, X., Misaki, M., Aupperle, R. L., Singh, M. K., Paulus, M. P., & Kirlic, N. (2024). Augmenting mindfulness training through neurofeedback: A pilot study of the pre-post changes on resting-state functional connectivity in typically developing adolescents. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 18.
Link to study
