Meditation alters how the brain represents signals from the heart, particularly within the default mode network (DMN), and reorganizes large-scale brain networks. In a large group of long-term Tibetan Buddhist monks, meditation produced distinct, transient changes in the brain's response to heartbeats in the DMN and reconfigurations of EEG gamma and theta band networks. Theta-band connectivity between temporal and frontal regions decreased with more meditation experience, and gamma oscillations became directionally coupled to theta oscillations during meditation. These findings suggest that changes in the neural representation of cardiac activity and large-scale network integration underlie meditation's effects, implying that meditation induces both immediate and lasting plasticity in brain organization.
Three cytochrome P450 enzymes in the ornamental sage Salvia splendens convert kolavenol into salviarin precursors: annonene, hardwickiic acid, and hautriwaic acid. Orthologous genes in Salvia divinorum encode enzymes with kolavenol synthase, annonene synthase, and hardwickiic acid synthase activity, supporting these as intermediate steps in the biosynthesis of the psychoactive furanoclerodane salvinorin A, which is used in treating opioid addiction. S. splendens can serve as a model for studying furanoclerodane biosynthesis, and the findings provide tools for producing salvinorin A in biotechnological systems.