We all think we have some sort of idea about what meditation does…but what does it actually do? Like, how does it work?

Everyone appreciates that if you put regular dedicated effort into a physical fitness programme, there will be measurable and specific changes to your body. Changes that will support a healthier, more active and better quality of life.

Similarly, put the effort into a regular meditation practice and you will produce changes to your brain that supports a healthier, more cognitively effective and more meaningful life.

Default Mode Network (DMN):

The Default Mode Network is a collection of different brain architectures¹ that is particularly active when the brain is ‘at rest’.

The DMN is responsible for internally focussed (self-centric) processes that include:

• Autobiographical memories.
• Self-referential thinking
• Mind wandering (day dreaming).
• Introspectiom

And the all too often experienced:

• Ruminating
• Dysphoric (depressive or negative) thinking.
• Simulating potential futures/conversations/outcomes etc.

If you take a few moments to reflect on how often your own mental internal monologue is churning through this stuff, it becomes apparent that the volume knob on the DMN is usually turned up to 11. At least it is for me.

Meditation turns that knob down temporarily, and long-term meditators can re-set it to a baseline lower volume.

Meditation does this by effecting not only the DMN, but two other systems that collectively form a triad of experiential modulation.

The other two networks are:

Central Executive Network (CEN):

Another set of brain structures that kicks in when we are making focused, effortful attention to a task. It involves decision-making, attentional control, and working-memory. If you are about to shoot a hoop in your teams basketball final, or avoid a collision in peak hour traffic, or squeeze a few extra bucks out of your tax return, your CEN is (hopefully) highly active.

You can see how the CEN is concerned with experiences very different to the DMN.

The final part of this triad is the Salience Network.

The Salience Network (SN):

This network² is sorts like a thermostat or gatekeeper that regulates the dominance of the other two systems.

Circling the triangle:

When you settle down and begin meditation, this is a rough (i.e., greatly simplified) explanation of the series of events that take place between your ears, neurophysiologically speaking.

1. As you begin focusing your attention on your breathing³ there is activation of the CEN (focused attention) and decreased activity in the DMN (thinking about how you need to do the washing up).
2. And you are experiencing the breath, and feeling relaxed…when *pop* the inevitable thoughts arise (mind wandering…increased activity in the DMN), the SN flags this as relevant in the context (or salience) of your meditation and prompts a suppression of the DMN again.
3. So it goes. A circle.
   Attention to the breath ….attention to the breath…CEN in control….then *pop* another thought..your DMN runs off with your mind on meandering narrative….until flagged by the SN which turns the volume down below the CEN and you are ‘on the breath’ again.

Long term changes with meditation:

As I said before, most of us for whatever reason seem to have a hyperactive DMN⁴ and trouble focusing on (or abiding in) the present moment. Most of us live a short distance from our lives.

It has been found that long-term practitioners reshape the architecture (known as neuroplasticity) of this triad, reducing the maladaptive dominance of any one area and promoting the right balance or integration of these three networks. A dynamic dance in response your current situation.

• Better focused attention (sustained effortless awareness).
• Less reactivity.
• Less mind wandering (unless specifically wanting to mind-wander).
• Better emotional regulation.
• Less rumination.

But wait, there’s more….

Moving from electrophysiology to something far deeper.

This has been a back-of-napkin explanation of what happens during meditation and how it can build a healthier mindset long term.

But that is not all that meditation does.
Meditation allows us to have a direct embodied (non-dual) experience of our true nature. It allows us to inhabit this moment as it fully unfolds without adding anything extra. And it allows us to see the self as a grand narrative of illusion.

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–ooOoo–

1. If you want to get all anatomical, they include the Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC), the Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC) and the ANgular Gyrus (AG) amongst others. ↩︎
2. Includes the Anterior Insula (AI), Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC), and the Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ). ↩︎
3. Most (but not all) meditation practices involve some initial focus on the breath or breath counting. ↩︎
4. And to be clear, there is an important role for the DMN ↩︎