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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Neuroimage. 2012 Sep 19;64:538–546. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.09.030

Figure 2. Expertise in OP modulates the temporal processing of painful stimuli.

Figure 2

a. Meditation experts had greater activity in primary pain regions during pain and decreased activity during the anticipatory period prior to pain. This is revealed by a voxel-wise group comparison of the response during (orange clusters) and prior to (green clusters) the pain stimulus (corrected, p<0.005). These maps are overlaid on the pain-related regions defined by the contrast heat vs. warm across groups (yellow clusters, t-test, corrected, p < 2×10^ −5). Talairach coordinates of axial views z= −2, 8, 31 and 42 mm. b. Experts differed more from novices in the anterior part of the pain-related regions than its sensory part during pain processing. The graph displays the response in sensory part of the pain-related regions, including posterior insula and secondary sensory cortex (labeled pI/S2), and in left aI (peak at (−38, 13, 7)) and aMCC (peak at (−8, 20, 39)) regions (in orange in 2a). Error bars are SEM. c. Experts had less anticipatory activity than novices in aI, aMCC but not in pI/S2. d. Average BOLD activity across time in pI/S2 and in left aI (baseline set to 0 at the onset of a1 for display purpose). e. Anticipatory activity in left aI predicted the pain-evoked response therein during pain controlling for Group factor and sensory activity in pI/S2 (Partial correlation r=−0.43, p<0.05). f. The amount of meditation practice in life for experts was negatively correlated to anticipatory activity in left aI (r= −0.63, p<0.05). * indicates p<0.05.