Scientists have discovered a way to achieve higher levels of concentration when practicing mindfulness by applying non-invasive ultrasound technology to the brain.
Mindfulness is derived from important practices in Hindu and Buddhist traditions and is recognized by the American Psychological Association as a method that can lead to stress reduction, improved memory, and increased cognitive flexibility.
Using a type of low-intensity ultrasound technique called transcranial focused ultrasound (TFUS), researchers at the University of Arizona were able to modify the brain’s default mode network (DMN), a network of interconnected brain regions that are particularly active during restful, introspective activities such as daydreaming.
The impetus for this research was born out of the hypothesis that if the brain’s focus were reduced, more people would be encouraged to practice mindfulness.
“The most impressive thing is that we are using minimal energy to change brain activity — we just gently stimulate the brain with low-intensity ultrasound,” lead study researcher Brian Lord, a cognitive and neural systems researcher, said in a statement.
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The experiment involved 30 participants who underwent supervised TFUS. Each person’s brain activity was monitored and they were then interviewed about their mental state.
Unlike other non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, TFUS has the ability to penetrate with pinpoint precision beneath the brain’s outermost layer, the cortex.
In the current study, we targeted areas that contribute to higher-level functions such as concentration, emotion regulation, and self-referential processing. Roughly speaking, these areas are active in any situation that involves reflection or introspection.
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The researchers employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor changes in brain activity. During the functional scans, subjects were instructed to stare at a fixation cross and let their thoughts flow naturally. Scans were taken 5 and 25 minutes after fMRI application.
Participants were asked to report their feelings and experiences before and after the TFUS treatment, and those who received the actual treatment reported improvements in state mindfulness as measured by the Toronto Mindfulness Scale, a questionnaire often used in this type of research.
Using this method to stimulate parts of the brain used for activities like daydreaming, recalling memories and imagining the future showed significant effects on DMN performance in just five minutes. This may make it easier to engage in activities like meditation without your mind wandering into rumination.
Dysregulation of the DMN can lead to a variety of psychiatric disorders. Depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia are all associated with abnormal DMN activity. The results of this study point to a promising path toward ultrasound-focused therapeutic techniques that help regulate the brain. By demonstrating TFUS’s potential to alter brain networks, the SEMA Lab is innovating to connect our thoughts and emotions with greater feelings of ease and calm.
“We are the first to show that the default mode network can be directly targeted and modulated non-invasively,” Lord said.
“Unlike neuroimaging techniques, which can only look at correlations with brain activity, non-invasive stimulation tools like TFUS allow us to look at the brain and develop causal models, which is incredibly powerful for the entire field of neuroscience.”
The study was published in the journal The Frontier of Human Neuroscience.
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