Dynamic change of awareness during meditation techniques: neural and physiological correlates

The neurological and physiological study of consciousness presents one of the greatest challenges today. This article presents a description of the psychophysiological changes that take place through the practice of mind-body techniques based on empirical research. Neural correlates of expanding awareness during the mind-body response are described as the autonomic nervous system shifts from a sympathetic dominant to a parasympathetic dominant state. The aim of this article is to visually define expansion of awareness during the practice of mind-body techniques such as mindfulness meditation and link it to the Default Mode Network (DMN). Synchronization of the cardiac and respiratory center response during meditation leads to an increase in parasympathetic activity, inhibition of the limbic system, and decrease in activation of the DMN is associated with an increase in cortical functional connectivity. This dynamic modulation of the DMN can be applied to study neural correlates of cognition and consciousness. The article presents a review of current research to illustrate the neural correlates and plasticity of the brain to accommodate such changes in consciousness. © 2012 Jerath.