Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies Of The Long-term Meditators’ Brains

Objective:?To?investigate?the?unique?changes?of?Gray?matter?volume(GMV),?brain?function,?and?functional?Connection(FC)?of?the?default?mode?network(DMN)?in?long-term?compassion?meditators?by?rs-fmri?imaging.Methods:?20?cases?of?long-term?compassion?meditators(meditation?group)?and?23?cases?of?non-meditation?volunteers(control?group)?with?the same gender and age period,duration?time?of?compassion?meditation(more?than?3?years)?who always lived?in?Qinghai?were?recruited.?The?brain?structure?and?brain?functional?sequence?of?all?subjects?were?collected?by?3.0t?magnetic?resonance?scanner.Applications?based?on?voxel?morphology(Voxol-based?morphology,?VBM),?local?consistency(regional?homogeneity,?ReHo)?and?low?frequency?oscillation?Amplitude(Amplitude?of?low?frequency?fluctuation,?AlFF)?method?and?compared?between?groups,?such?as?extracting?GMV?in?different?regions,?ReHo?value,?AlFF?value;The?method?of?functional?connection?analysis?based?on?posterior?cingulate cortex(PCC)?seed?points?was?applied?to?extract?the?brain?regions?changed?by?DMN?at?rest.Single?sample?t?test?was?used?for?intra-group?comparison,?and?independent?sample?t?test?was?used?for?inter-group?comparison.Results:compared?with?control?group,?the?meditator?compassion?for?a?long?time?in?bilateral?thalamus,?double?side?para-hippocampal?gyrus,?bilateral?lingual?gyrus,?right?upper?central?after?come?back,?right?superior?temporal?gyrus,?right?temporal?and?right?temporal?transverse?back?to?back?in?the?last?time,?the?right?side?of?the?edge,?the?right?side?of?the?pillow,?on?the?left?side?of?the?left?superior?temporal?gyrus,?the?medial?frontal?last?time?of?gray?matter?volume?increased(p?<?0.05,?AlphaSim?correction).The?brain?areas?with?increased?ReHo?value?included?the?left?thalamus,?left?fusiform?gyrus,?bilateral?cerebellum?area?6,?left?cerebellum?area?8,?and?left?cerebellum?area?8.The?decreased?ReHo?values?were?found?in?the?left?anterior?cingulate?and?paralateral?cingulate?gyrus(p?<?0.05,AlphaSim?correction).The?brain?areas?with?increased?ALFF?values?included?the?left?thalamus,?left?heschl?gyrus,?left?para-hippocampal?gyrus,?right?fusiform?gyrus,?bilateral?cerebellum?areas?4?and?5,?and?bilateral?cerebellum?areas?6.The?brain?areas?with?decreased?ALFF?values?were?the?bilateral?triangle?inferior?frontal?gyrus,?bilateral?medial?superior?frontal?gyrus,?right?middle?frontal?gyrus,?left?anterior?cingulate?gyrus?and?paralactic?cingulate?gyrus(p?<?0.05,AlphaSim?correction).Compared?with?the?control?group,?the?functional?connections?between?long-term?compassion?meditators?and?PCC?were?enhanced?in?the?right?para-hippocampal?gyrus,?rightfusiform?gyrus,?right?inferior?temporal?gyrus,?right?upper?posterior?central?gyrus,?rightinferior?apical?border?gyrus,?and?right?Angle?gyrus,?while?the?connections?were?weakened?in?the?left?para-central?lobule?and?right?supplementary?activity?area(p?<?0.05,AlphaSim?correction).Conclusion:?Compared?with?the?control?group,?long-term?compassion?meditators?showed?increased?GMV?in?multiple?brain?regions,?different?ReHo?and?ALFF?values?inmultiple?brain?regions,?and?different?functional?connections?in?default?network?at?resting?state.Differences?in?brain?structure,?brain?function?and?functional?connectivity?between?long-term?meditators?and?control?groups?are?the?basis?for?meditation-assisted?treatment?of?clinical?diseases.