Dataset Information

Studying the default mode and its mindfulness-induced changes using EEG functional connectivity.

ABSTRACT: The default mode network (DMN) has been largely studied by imaging, but not yet by neurodynamics, using electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity (FC). mindfulness meditation (MM), a receptive, non-elaborative training is theorized to lower DMN activity. We explored: (i) the usefulness of EEG-FC for investigating the DMN and (ii) the MM-induced EEG-FC effects. To this end, three MM groups were compared with controls, employing EEG-FC (-MPC, mean phase coherence). Our results show that: (i) DMN activity was identified as reduced overall inter-hemispheric gamma MPC during the transition from resting state to a time production task and (ii) MM-induced a state increase in alpha MPC as well as a trait decrease in EEG-FC. The MM-induced EEG-FC decrease was irrespective of expertise or band. Specifically, there was a relative reduction in right theta MPC, and left alpha and gamma MPC. The left gamma MPC was negatively correlated with MM expertise, possibly related to lower internal verbalization. The trait lower gamma MPC supports the notion of MM-induced reduction in DMN activity, related with self-reference and mind-wandering. This report emphasizes the possibility of studying the DMN using EEG-FC as well as the importance of studying meditation in relation to it.

SUBMITTER: Berkovich-Ohana A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4187278 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Studying the default mode and its mindfulness-induced changes using EEG functional connectivity.

Berkovich-Ohana Aviva A Glicksohn Joseph J Goldstein Abraham A

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 20131104 10

The default mode network (DMN) has been largely studied by imaging, but not yet by neurodynamics, using electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity (FC). mindfulness meditation (MM), a receptive, non-elaborative training is theorized to lower DMN activity. We explored: (i) the usefulness of EEG-FC for investigating the DMN and (ii) the MM-induced EEG-FC effects. To this end, three MM groups were compared with controls, employing EEG-FC (-MPC, mean phase coherence). Our results show that ...[more]

PMID: 24194576

Similar Datasets

Project description:Recent brain imaging findings by using different methods (e.g., fMRI and PET) have suggested that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is correlated with alterations in regional or network-level brain function. However, due to many limitations associated with these methods, such as poor temporal resolution and limited number of samples per second, neuroscientists could not quantify the fast dynamic connectivity of causal information networks in SAD. In this study, SAD-related changes in brain connections within the default mode network (DMN) were investigated using eight electroencephalographic (EEG) regions of interest. Partial directed coherence (PDC) was used to assess the causal influences of DMN regions on each other and indicate the changes in the DMN effective network related to SAD severity. The DMN is a large-scale brain network basically composed of the mesial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus, and lateral parietal cortex (LPC). The EEG data were collected from 88 subjects (22 control, 22 mild, 22 moderate, 22 severe) and used to estimate the effective connectivity between DMN regions at different frequency bands: delta (1-3 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), low beta (13-21 Hz), and high beta (22-30 Hz). Among the healthy control (HC) and the three considered levels of severity of SAD, the results indicated a higher level of causal interactions for the mild and moderate SAD groups than for the severe and HC groups. Between the control and the severe SAD groups, the results indicated a higher level of causal connections for the control throughout all the DMN regions. We found significant increases in the mean PDC in the delta (p = 0.009) and alpha (p = 0.001) bands between the SAD groups. Among the DMN regions, the precuneus exhibited a higher level of causal influence than other regions. Therefore, it was suggested to be a major source hub that contributes to the mental exploration and emotional content of SAD. In contrast to the severe group, HC exhibited higher resting-state connectivity at the mPFC, providing evidence for mPFC dysfunction in the severe SAD group. Furthermore, the total Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) was positively correlated with the mean values of the PDC of the severe SAD group, r (22) = 0.576, p = 0.006 and negatively correlated with those of the HC group, r (22) = -0.689, p = 0.001. The reported results may facilitate greater comprehension of the underlying potential SAD neural biomarkers and can be used to characterize possible targets for further medication.

Project description:Functional magnetic resonance imaging research suggests that major depressive disorder (MDD) in both adults and adolescents is marked by aberrant connectivity of the default mode network (DMN) during resting state. However, emotional dysregulation is also a key feature of MDD. No studies to date have examined emotion-related DMN pathology in adolescent depression. Comprehensively understanding the dynamics of DMN connectivity across brain states in individuals with depression with short disease histories could provide insight into the etiology of MDD.We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data during an emotion identification task and during resting state from 26 medication-free adolescents (13-17 years old) with MDD and 37 well-matched healthy control subjects. We examined between-group differences in blood oxygenation level-dependent task responses and emotion-dependent and resting-state functional connectivity of the two primary nodes of the DMN: medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Additionally, we examined between-group differences in DMN functional connectivity and its relationship to depression severity and onset.Relative to healthy control subjects, unmedicated adolescents with MDD demonstrated reduced medial prefrontal cortex and PCC emotion-related deactivation and greater medial prefrontal cortex and PCC emotion-dependent functional connectivity with precuneus, cingulate gyrus, and striatum/subcallosal cingulate gyrus. The PCC-subcallosal cingulate connectivity remained inflexibly elevated in the subjects with MDD versus healthy control subjects during resting state. Stronger PCC emotion-dependent functional connectivity was associated with greater depression severity and an earlier age of depression onset.Adolescent depression is associated with inflexibly elevated DMN connections. Given more recent evidence of DMN maturation throughout adolescence, our findings suggest that early-onset depression adversely affects normal development of functional brain networks.

Dataset Information

Studying the default mode and its mindfulness-induced changes using EEG functional connectivity.

Publications

Studying the default mode and its mindfulness-induced changes using EEG functional connectivity.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets