Meditation is a family of mental practices that encompasses a wide array oftechniques employing distinctive mental strategies. We systematically reviewed78 functional neuroimaging (fMRI and PET) studies of meditation, and usedactivation likelihood estimation to meta-analyze 257 peak foci from 31experiments involving 527 participants. We found reliably dissociable patternsof brain activation and deactivation for four common styles of meditation(focused attention, mantra recitation, open monitoring, andcompassion/loving-kindness), and suggestive differences for three others(visualization, sense-withdrawal, and non-dual awareness practices). Overall,dissociable activation patterns are congruent with the psychological andbehavioral aims of each practice. Some brain areas are recruited consistentlyacross multiple techniques - including insula, pre/supplementary motorcortices, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and frontopolar cortex - butconvergence is the exception rather than the rule. A preliminary effect-sizemeta-analysis found medium effects for both activations (d = .59) anddeactivations (d = -.74), suggesting potential practical significance. Ourmeta-analysis supports the neurophysiological dissociability of meditationpractices, but also raises many methodological concerns and suggests avenuesfor future research.
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