Research Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · 2016
Fox et al. — Functional Neuroanatomy of Meditation
Coordinate-based meta-analysis of 78 functional neuroimaging meditation investigations. Common and practice-specific patterns — not a single “meditation spot.”
Kieran C. R. Fox and colleagues pooled fMRI/PET meditation studies. Different practices light different maps. That is the finding: meditation is not one brain state.
Who, where, when
University of British Columbia / collaborating groups. PMID 27032724.
What the work actually did
Activation likelihood estimation across a large set of functional studies. Shared regions and practice-specific differences.
What it does not prove
Coordinate meta-analysis is only as good as the experiments in the pile. Task, tradition, and scanner matter. No audio condition is implied.
How to use this page
When someone says “meditation looks like this on fMRI,” ask which practice. Then notice that your headphones are not in the scanner.
Related
Editorial reading of published research. The official paper is authoritative. Not medical advice. Not a claim that consumer audio recreates a trial protocol.