Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise

By Antoine Lutz, Julie A. Brefczynski-Lewis, Tom Johnstone, Richard J. Davidson. PLoS ONE, 2008

916 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Recent brain imaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have implicated insula and anterior cingulate cortices in the empathic response to another's pain. However, virtually nothing is known about the impact of the voluntary generation of compassion on this network. To investigate these questions we assessed brain activity using fMRI while novice and expert meditation practitioners generated a loving-kindness-compassion meditation state. To probe affective reactivity, we presented emotional and neutral sounds during the meditation and comparison periods. Our main hypothesis was that the concern for others cultivated during this form of meditation enhances affective processing, in particular in response to sounds of distress, and that this response to emotional sounds is modulated by the degree of meditation training. The presentation of the emotional sounds was associated with increased pupil diameter and activation of limbic regions (insula and cingulate cortices) during meditation (versus rest). During meditation, activation in insula was greater during presentation of negative sounds than positive or neutral sounds in expert than it was in novice meditators. The strength of activation in insula was also associated with self-reported intensity of the meditation for both groups. These results support the role of the limbic circuitry in emotion sharing. The comparison between meditation vs. rest states between experts and novices also showed increased activation in amygdala, right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), and right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) in response to all sounds, suggesting, greater detection of the emotional sounds, and enhanced mentation in response to emotional human vocalizations for experts than novices during meditation. Together these data indicate that the mental expertise to cultivate positive emotion alters the activation of circuitries previously linked to empathy and theory of mind in response to emotional stimuli.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a20825847cd880b124fa6ca3d8143826b7ab2180

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Citations in the corpus

Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness (2012, background): “, 2008), and f unctional increases in insular cortex have been f ound during mindf ulness and compassion meditative states (Farb et al., 2007; Lutz et al., 2008a; Manna et al., 2010; IvesDeliperi et al., 2011).”
Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program (2013, background): “…has been associated with decreased negative affect and stress responses, and also with increased positive affect, social connectedness, and kindness towards oneself and others (Fredrickson et al. 2008; Hutcherson et al. 2008; Lutz et al. 2008; Lutz et al. 2004; Pace et al. 2009; Pace et al. 2010).”
The neural basis of empathy. (2012, result): “For example, two recent cross-sectional studies by Lutz and colleagues have shown increased functional activation in insula and mentalizing networks in compassion meditation experts compared with novice meditators (Lutz et al. 2008, 2009).”
The Difficulty of Defining Mindfulness: Current Thought and Critical Issues (2013, background): “Instead, several authors recognize that they usually share a common background of focused attention (concentration), which can take different directions depending on the specific meditation form (Lutz et al. 2008; Rapgay and Bystrisky 2009).”
Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation: Potential for Psychological Interventions (2011, background): “This typology is organized in terms of mindset, defined as a certain attentional object viewed with a certain emotion/attitude (e.g., Bishop et al., 2004; Brown et al., 2007; Grossman et al., 2004; Lau et al., 2006; Lutz et al., 2008; Shapiro et al., 2006; Thera, 1962).”
Examining Ways That a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Reduces Stress in Public School Teachers: a Mixed-Methods Study (2016, background): “There is some evidence to suggest that compassion is a trainable skill rather than a trait that is stable within individuals (Lutz et al. 2008; Lutz et al. 2009).”
Religion as a source of variation in the experience of positive and negative emotions (2009, background): “Various religious practices, such as prayer, chanting, or meditation, are means through which specific emotions might be actively sought out and regulated (eg, Gunaratana, 1990 ; Lutz, Slagter, Dunne, & Davidson, 2008 ; Rahula, 1974 ).”