Day 26: How to Improve Mental Health – Major Brain Networks | 30 Days of Meditation, Science & Bliss

Day 26: How to Improve Mental Health – Major Brain Networks | 30 Days of Meditation, Science & Bliss

In today’s lesson we talk about how to improve mental health by understanding the major brain networks.

Learn about the Default Mode Network (DMN), Task Positive Network (TPN), and Frontoparietal Network (FPN), and how they influence our daily mental states.

Explore practical techniques like the 4Rs to shift from ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ modes to a balanced ‘being’ mode, potentially enhancing mental well-being.

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FitMind is a mental fitness nonprofit that aims to make science-based meditation accessible to all. With your support, we can spread wellbeing and mental health. Even the smallest contribution makes a significant impact: https://fitmind.org/donate.

Website: https://www.fitmind.org
App: https://bit.ly/fitmindtraining
Podcast: https://www.fitmind.org/podcast

Liam is a forest monk who has taught meditation internationally. He advises on advanced meditation research for Harvard Medical School & Mass General Hospital. Liam holds a BA from Yale and an MSc in applied neuroscience from KCL.

Resources
– Paper 1: “Network changes underlying neural disorders: Relation to the MMN networks”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780443155482000120
– Paper 2: “Thinking about thinking: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies of metacognitive judgements” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2398212818810591
– Paper 3: The brain on silent: mind wandering, mindful awareness, and states of mental tranquility”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5866730/
– Paper 4: Alternative model: “The role of the salience network in cognitive and affective deficits”https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1133367/full
– Paper 5: “Influence of meditation on anti-correlated networks in the brain” https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2011.00183/full
– Paper 6: “Alterations in task-induced activity and resting-state fluctuations in visual and DMN areas revealed in long-term meditators” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27109713/
– Paper 7: “Mindfulness meditation increases default mode, salience, and central executive network connectivity”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9346127/
– Paper 8: “Meta-analytic evidence that mindfulness training alters resting state default mode network connectivity”https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-15195-6

[Disclaimer: Advice on the FitMind channel is for educational purposes only. Please consult a medical professional before engaging in new health-related activities or for guidance regarding mental conditions.]