Resting Brain Activity Related to Dispositional Mindfulness: a PET Study.

Dispositional mindfulness, the trait of being aware of present experiences without judgment, is linked to specific patterns of brain activity at rest. In 32 individuals (23 with mental disorders, 9 healthy controls), higher mindfulness scores on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were associated with greater resting glucose metabolism in the superior parietal lobule and left precuneus, core areas of the default mode network involved in sense of self. Conversely, lower metabolism appeared in the left inferior frontal orbital gyrus and bilateral thalamus, regions tied to memory, decision making, and outward attention. These relationships held after adjusting for depression, anxiety, age, and education.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness denotes a state of consciousness characterized by receptive attention to and awareness of present events and experiences. As a personality trait, it constitutes the ability to become aware of mental activities such as sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts, and to disengage from judgment, conditioned emotions, and their cognitive processing or automatic inhibition. Default brain activity reflects the stream of consciousness and sense of self at rest. Analysis of brain activity at rest in persons with mindfulness propensity may help to elucidate the neurophysiological basis of this important mental trait. The sample consisted of 32 persons-23 with mental disorders and 9 healthy controls. Dispositional mindfulness (DM) was operationalized by Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Brain activity at rest with eyes closed was assessed by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (F-18-FDG PET). After adjustment for depression, anxiety, age and years of education, resting glucose metabolism in superior parietal lobule and left precuneus/Brodmann area (BA) 7 was positively associated with DM. Activity of the left inferior frontal orbital gyrus (BA 47) and bilateral anterior thalamus were inversely associated with DM. DM appears to be associated with increased metabolic activity in some core area of the default mode network (DMN) and areas connected to the DMN, such as BA 7, hosting sense of self functions. Hypometabolism on the other hand was found in some nodes connected to the DMN, such as left inferior frontal orbital gyrus and bilateral thalamus, commonly related to functions of memory retrieval, decision making, or outward attention.