Enhanced amygdala-anterior cingulate white matter structural connectivity in Sahaja Yoga Meditators.

OBJECTIVE: To study the white matter connections between anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula and amygdala as key regions of the frontal-limbic network that have been related to meditation. DESIGN: Twenty experienced practitioners of Sahaja Yoga Meditation and twenty nonmeditators matched on age, gender and education level, were scanned using Diffusion Weighted Imaging, using a 3T scanner, and their white matter connectivity was compared using diffusion tensor imaging analyses. RESULTS: There were five white matter fiber paths in which meditators showed a larger number of tracts, two of them connecting the same area in both hemispheres: the left and right amygdalae and the left and right anterior insula; and the other three connecting left anterior cingulate with the right anterior insula, the right amygdala and the left amygdala. On the other hand, non-meditators showed larger number of tracts in two paths connecting the left anterior insula with the left amygdala, and the left anterior insula with the left anterior cingulate. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that long-term practice of Sahaja Yoga Meditation is associated with larger white matter tracts strengthening interhemispheric connections between limbic regions and connections between cingulo-amygdalar and cingulo-insular brain regions related to top-down attentional and emotional processes as well as between top-down control functions that could potentially be related to the witness state perceived through the state of mental silence promoted with this meditation. On the other hand, reduced connectivity strength in left anterior insula in the meditation group could be associated to reduced emotional processing affecting top-down processes.

Monitoring the neural activity associated with praying in Sahaja Yoga meditation.

BACKGROUND: Sahaja Yoga Meditation draws on many religious traditions and uses a variety of techniques including Christian prayer to reach a state known as thoughtless awareness, or mental silence. While there are many studies on the neural correlates of meditation, few studies have focused on the neural correlates of praying. Thus, the aim of our research was to study the neural activity associated with the prayer practices in Sahaja Yoga Mediation, which have not been studied before, to explore effects beyond repetitive speech or "mantra effects". Sixteen experienced Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners were scanned using task based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging while performing formalised and improvised forms of praying and their equivalent secular tasks. RESULTS: Our results showed the deactivation of bilateral thalamus during both prayers compared to secular conditions and the activation in the medial prefrontal cortex that was reduced by religious and formalised secular speech conditions but increased during improvised secular speech; similarly, frontal regions were deactivated when comparing prayers to their secular equivalents. DISCUSSION: These results seem to depict two important factors related with praying in Sahaja Yoga Meditation merging inner concentration and social cognition. First, the perception of the surroundings mediated by the thalamus may be decreased during these prayers probably due to the establishment of inner concentration and, second, frontal deactivation effects could be related to reduced social judgement and 'mentalizing', particularly in the medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that praying by Sahaja Yoga Meditation practitioners is neurophenomenologically different from the social cognitive attempt of praying within Christian praying practices.

Functionalization of a Fully Integrated Electrophotonic Silicon Circuit for Biotin Sensing.

Electrophotonic (EPh) circuits are novel systems where photons and electrons can be controlled simultaneously in the same integrated circuit, attaining the development of innovative sensors for different applications. In this work, we present a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible EPh circuit for biotin sensing, in which a silicon-based light source is monolithically integrated. The device is composed of an integrated light source, a waveguide, and a p-n photodiode, which are all fabricated in the same chip. The functionalization of the waveguide's surface was investigated to biotinylate the EPh system for potential biosensing applications. The modified surfaces were characterized by AFM, optical microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, as well as by photoluminescence measurements. The changes on the waveguide's surface due to functionalization and biotinylation translated into different photocurrent intensities detected in the photodiode, demonstrating the potential uses of the EPh circuit as a biosensor.