Figure 1.

Sketch of the paralimbic network. Principal component analysis was used to identify brain regions common to conscious experiences during yoga-nidra meditation and the normal resting conscious state. Two major clusters were found, explaining 25 and 18% of the variability. The paralimbic network consists of a set of three regions which contributed to both clusters: Striatum, medial prefrontal, and medial parietal cortices (precuneus). Being active in a wide variety of conscious experiences, we hypothesize that this paralimbic network represented self-reference, as a common denominator for conscious experiences to account for a sense of unity of consciousness.