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Dynamic functional connectivity signatures of focused attention on the breath in adolescents
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Dynamic functional connectivity signatures of focused attention on the breath in adolescents

Isaac N Treves, Aaron K Kucyi, Anna O Tierney, Emma Balkind, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Zev Schuman-Olivier, John D E Gabrieli and Christian A Webb
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991), v 35(2), bhaf024
05 Feb 2025
PMID: 39995218
url
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11850302/View
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Abstract

Adolescent Attention - physiology Brain - diagnostic imaging Brain - physiology Brain Mapping - methods Connectome - methods Female Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods Male Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging Nerve Net - physiology Neural Pathways - physiology Respiration
Breathing meditation typically consists of directing attention toward breathing and redirecting attention when the mind wanders. As yet, we do not have a full understanding of the neural mechanisms of breath attention, in particular, how large-scale network interactions may be different between breath attention and rest and how these interactions may be modulated during periods of on-task and off-task attention to the breath. One promising approach may be examining fMRI measures including static connectivity between brain regions as well as dynamic, time-varying brain states. In this study, we analyzed static and dynamic functional connectivity in 72 adolescents during a breath-counting task (BCT), leveraging physiological respiration data to detect objective on-task and off-task periods. During the BCT relative to rest, we identified increases in static connectivity within attention-direction and orienting networks and anticorrelations between attention networks and the DMN. Dynamic connectivity analysis revealed four distinct brain states, including a DMN-anticorrelated brain state, proportionally more present during the BCT than the rest. We found there were distinct brain state markers of (i) breathing tasks vs rest and (ii) momentary on-task vs off-task attention within the BCT, yet in this analysis, no identifiable brain states reflecting between-individual behavioral variability.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Neurosciences
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