Matthew Sacchet

Last updated
Matthew Sacchet
Dr. Matthew Sacchet.jpg
Alma materStanford University (Ph.D.) Brown University (Sc.B.)
Known forScience of meditation
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience, Contemplative Studies, Psychiatry
InstitutionsHarvard University (2019-present)

Matthew D. Sacchet is a neuroscientist, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and Director of the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital ("Mass General"). [1] His research focuses on the science of advanced meditation: states, stages, and endpoints of meditative development and mastery. His research also includes studies of brain structure and function using multimodal neuroimaging, in addition to clinical trials, neuromodulation (neurofeedback and neurostimulation), and computational approaches (e.g., machine learning). [2] He is notable for his work at the intersection of meditation, neuroscience, and mental illness. [3] His work has been cited over 10,000 times [4] and presented more than 170 times [5] at international, national, regional and local venues including Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale Universities, and the United Nations. His work has appeared in major media outlets including 10% Happier [6] , CBC [7] , CBS, [8] Forbes [3] [9] , Men's/Women's Health [10] [11] , NBC, [12] NPR, [13] New Scientist [14] , Scientific American [15] , Time [16] , Vox, [17] and The Wall Street Journal. [18] In 2017 Forbes Magazine selected Sacchet for the "30 Under 30". [3]

Contents

Education

Sacchet received a Sc.B. in Contemplative Science from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Stanford University. [19]

Academia

Career

Sacchet has held research positions at Brown University, Harvard University, McLean Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Tübingen, and Stanford University. [20] [21] Since 2019, he has been faculty at Harvard Medical School and since 2022 Massachusetts General Hospital where he directs the Meditation Research Program. [21] The Meditation Research Program is affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry [22] and the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. [23] The Meditation Research Program uses research approaches from affective and cognitive neuroscience, applied phenomenology, clinical psychology and psychiatry, computer science and related computational disciplines, contemplative and religious studies, engineering, epidemiology, neuroimaging and electrophysiology, philosophy, psychometrics and psychological assessment, and psychosomatic medicine. The Program's studies have included multidisciplinary investigation of meditative development and meditative endpoints toward a more comprehensive understanding of the trajectories and outcomes of advanced meditation [24] [25] [26] . The Program has also published landmark research in domains including diverse theoretical aspects of advanced meditation research, and empirically including contributing first studies of advanced absorption ("jhana") [27] and insight meditation [28] , meditative endpoints (including cessations of consciousness) [29] [30] , and the epidemiology and public health implications of altered states of consciousness [31] [32] . The goal of the Meditation Research Program is to establish a scientific understanding of, and also to share, advanced meditation as well as to "contribute to improving individual well-being and the collective health of society by informing the development of meditation training and meditation-based interventions that are more effective, efficient, and targeted." [1]

Work

Sacchet's work has influenced several areas, including the science of meditation, [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [27] [29] [26] [25] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] brain connectivity in depression, [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] machine learning and person-specific biomarkers for depression, [55] [56] [57] [58] and depression and the brain across the lifespan. [59] [60] [61] [62]

References

  1. 1 2 "Matthew D. Sacchet". Harvard Brain Science Initiative. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  2. "Publications".
  3. 1 2 3 "Matthew Sacchet". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  4. "Matthew D. Sacchet". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  5. "Matthew D. Sacchet, Ph.D | Director Meditation Research Program". Meditation Research Program. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  6. Harris, Dan (2025-12-01). "The Mind-Bending Science of Advanced Meditation | Matthew Sacchet". www.danharris.com. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  7. Radio-Canada Info (2025-01-31). Les risques méconnus de la méditation | Découverte . Retrieved 2025-12-02 via YouTube.
  8. "Mindfulness". www.cbsnews.com. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  9. York, Alexandra. "How This Under 30 Sports Founder Is Changing The Women's Basketball Shoe Industry". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  10. "Deep state: The new science of advanced meditation". Women's Health. 2024-10-11. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  11. "Deep State: The New Science Of Advanced Meditation". Men's Health. 2024-12-29. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  12. Lewis, Tanya (3 February 2015). "How Your Brain Ignores Distractions". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  13. "Pain Really Is All In Your Head And Emotion Controls Intensity". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  14. Claudia Canavan. "What we're learning about consciousness from master meditators' brains". New Scientist. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  15. Brewer, Matthew D. Sacchet, Judson A. (2024-07-01). "Advanced Meditation Alters Consciousness and Our Basic Sense of Self". Scientific American. Retrieved 2025-12-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. "Why the Patriots Will Forget About Deflategate". Time. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  17. Jarow, Oshan (2023-08-22). "Meditation is more than either stress relief or enlightenment". Vox. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  18. Hsu, Michael (2015-12-31). "Can Meditation Gadgets Help You Reduce Your Stress—and Find Happiness?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  19. "Matthew Sacchet". mbb.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  20. "Matthew Sacchet".
  21. 1 2 "Meditation Research Program". meditation.mgh.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  22. "Psychiatric Neuroimaging Division". Massachusetts General Hospital. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  23. "Mathew Sacchet | Martinos Center". 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  24. Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-09-01). "Toward a Unified Model of Advanced Meditation, Human Development, Meditation Maps, and Transtradition Metaphors: Facing Impermanence, Suffering, and Death". Mindfulness. 16 (9): 2472–2482. doi:10.1007/s12671-025-02632-6. ISSN   1868-8535. PMC   12488734 . PMID   41048461.
  25. 1 2 Galante, Julieta; Grabovac, Andrea; Wright, Malcolm; Ingram, Daniel M.; Van Dam, Nicholas T.; Sanguinetti, Joseph L.; Sparby, Terje; van Lutterveld, Remko; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2023-05-01). "A Framework for the Empirical Investigation of Mindfulness Meditative Development". Mindfulness. 14 (5): 1054–1067. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02113-8 . ISSN   1868-8535.
  26. 1 2 Wright, Malcolm J.; Sanguinetti, Joseph L.; Young, Shinzen; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2023-05-01). "Uniting Contemplative Theory and Scientific Investigation: Toward a Comprehensive Model of the Mind". Mindfulness. 14 (5): 1088–1101. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02101-y . hdl: 10150/674043 . ISSN   1868-8535.
  27. 1 2 Yang, Winson Fu Zun; Chowdhury, Avijit; Bianciardi, Marta; van Lutterveld, Remko; Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2023-11-06). "Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states". Cerebral Cortex. 34 (1) bhad408. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhad408. ISSN   1460-2199. PMC   10793575 . PMID   37943791.
  28. Yang, Winson F. Z.; Chowdhury, Avijit; Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-01-01). "Deconstructing the self and reshaping perceptions: An intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of the stages of insight during advanced investigative insight meditation". NeuroImage. 305 120968. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120968. ISSN   1095-9572. PMID   39653180.
  29. 1 2 Chowdhury, Avijit; van Lutterveld, Remko; Laukkonen, Ruben E.; Slagter, Heleen A.; Ingram, Daniel M.; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2023-11-05). "Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation "cessation" experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study". Neuropsychologia. 190 108694. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108694. hdl: 1871.1/5cdd1195-31bf-4eeb-8689-0d96a367a204 . ISSN   0028-3932. PMC   10843092 . PMID   37777153.
  30. van Lutterveld, Remko; Chowdhury, Avijit; Ingram, Daniel M.; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2024-05-04). "Neurophenomenological Investigation of Mindfulness Meditation "Cessation" Experiences Using EEG Network Analysis in an Intensively Sampled Adept Meditator". Brain Topography. 37 (5): 849–858. doi:10.1007/s10548-024-01052-4. ISSN   1573-6792. PMC   11393101 . PMID   38703334.
  31. Wright, Malcolm J.; Cha, Vanessa L.; Streifert, Melissa R.; Ingram, Daniel M.; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-09-01). "Risk Factors for Emergence of Sudden Unusual Mental or Somatic Experiences and Subsequent Suffering". Clinical Psychological Science. 13 (5): 978–991. doi:10.1177/21677026251330250. ISSN   2167-7026.
  32. Wright, Malcolm J.; Galante, Julieta; Corneille, Jessica S.; Grabovac, Andrea; Ingram, Daniel M.; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2024-05-01). "Altered States of Consciousness are Prevalent and Insufficiently Supported Clinically: A Population Survey". Mindfulness. 15 (5): 1162–1175. doi:10.1007/s12671-024-02356-z. ISSN   1868-8535.
  33. Roberts-Wolfe, Douglas; Sacchet, Matthew; Hastings, Elizabeth; Roth, Harold; Britton, Willoughby (2012). "Mindfulness Training Alters Emotional Memory Recall Compared to Active Controls: Support for an Emotional Information Processing Model of Mindfulness". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 6: 15. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00015 . ISSN   1662-5161. PMC   3277910 . PMID   22347856.
  34. Kerr, Catherine E.; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Lazar, Sara W.; Moore, Christopher I.; Jones, Stephanie R. (2013). "Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 7: 12. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00012 . ISSN   1662-5161. PMC   3570934 . PMID   23408771.
  35. van Lutterveld, Remko; Houlihan, Sean D.; Pal, Prasanta; Sacchet, Matthew D.; McFarlane-Blake, Cinque; Patel, Payal R.; Sullivan, John S.; Ossadtchi, Alex; Druker, Susan; Bauer, Clemens; Brewer, Judson A. (May 2017). "Source-space EEG neurofeedback links subjective experience with brain activity during effortless awareness meditation". NeuroImage. 151: 117–127. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.047. ISSN   1053-8119. PMC   5001938 . PMID   26921712.
  36. Lifshitz, Michael; Sacchet, Matthew; Huntenburg, Julia; Thiery, Thomas; Fan, Yan; Gärtner, Matti; Grimm, Simone; Winnebeck, Emilia; Fissler, Maria (2019-05-30). "Mindfulness-based therapy regulates brain connectivity in major depression". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 88 (6): 375–377. doi:10.31231/osf.io/ctkwq. PMID   31509824. S2CID   243254702.
  37. Sezer, Idil; Pizzagalli, Diego A.; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2022). "Resting-state fMRI functional connectivity and mindfulness in clinical and non-clinical contexts: A review and synthesis". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 135 104583. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104583. ISSN   0149-7634. PMC   9083081 . PMID   35202647. S2CID   247013699.
  38. Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2022-01-28). "Defining Meditation: Foundations for an Activity-Based Phenomenological Classification System". Frontiers in Psychology. 12 795077. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.795077 . ISSN   1664-1078. PMC   8832115 . PMID   35153920.
  39. Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2024-06-01). "Toward a Unified Account of Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation: A Systematic Definition and Classification of Jhāna". Mindfulness. 15 (6): 1375–1394. doi:10.1007/s12671-024-02367-w. ISSN   1868-8535.
  40. Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-08-01). "The Third Wave of Meditation and Mindfulness Research and Implications for Challenging Experiences: Negative Effects, Transformative Psychological Growth, and Forms of Happiness". Mindfulness. 16 (8): 2156–2170. doi:10.1007/s12671-025-02607-7. ISSN   1868-8535.
  41. Sacchet, Matthew D.; Fava, Maurizio; Garland, Eric L. (June 2024). "Modulating self-referential processing through meditation and psychedelics: is scientific investigation of self-transcendence clinically relevant?". World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). 23 (2): 298–299. doi:10.1002/wps.21214. ISSN   1723-8617. PMC   11083968 . PMID   38727064.
  42. Chowdhury, Avijit; Bianciardi, Marta; Chapdelaine, Eric; Riaz, Omar S.; Timmermann, Christopher; van Lutterveld, Remko; Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (January 2025). "Multimodal neurophenomenology of advanced concentration absorption meditation: An intensively sampled case study of Jhana". NeuroImage. 305 120973. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120973. ISSN   1095-9572. PMC   11770875 . PMID   39681243.
  43. Chowdhury, Avijit; Bianciardi, Marta; Chapdelaine, Eric; Riaz, Omar S.; Timmermann, Christopher; van Lutterveld, Remko; Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (January 2025). "Multimodal neurophenomenology of advanced concentration absorption meditation: An intensively sampled case study of Jhana". NeuroImage. 305 120973. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120973. ISSN   1095-9572. PMC   11770875 . PMID   39681243.
  44. Potash, Ruby M.; Yang, Winson F. Z.; Winston, Brian; Atasoy, Selen; Kringelbach, Morten L.; Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-02-05). "Investigating the complex cortical dynamics of an advanced concentrative absorption meditation called jhanas (ACAM-J): a geometric eigenmode analysis". Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y.: 1991). 35 (2) bhaf039. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhaf039. ISSN   1460-2199. PMC  11879328. PMID   40037411.
  45. Treves, Isaac N.; Yang, Winson F. Z.; Sparby, Terje; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025). "Dynamic brain states underlying advanced concentrative absorption meditation: A 7-T fMRI-intensive case study". Network Neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.). 9 (1): 125–145. doi:10.1162/netn_a_00432. ISSN   2472-1751. PMC   11949543 . PMID   40161981.
  46. Sezer, Idil; Sacchet, Matthew D. (June 2025). "Advanced and long-term meditation and the autonomic nervous system: A review and synthesis". Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 173 106141. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106141. ISSN   1873-7528. PMC  12052481. PMID   40204160.
  47. Demir, Umay; Yang, Winson Fu Zun; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-04-01). "Advanced concentrative absorption meditation reorganizes functional connectivity gradients of the brain: 7T MRI and phenomenology case study of jhana meditation". Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y.: 1991). 35 (4) bhaf079. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhaf079. ISSN   1460-2199. PMC  11990890. PMID   40215476.
  48. Potash, Ruby M.; van Mil, Sean D.; Estarellas, Mar; Canales-Johnson, Andres; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-11-01). "Integrated Phenomenology and Brain Connectivity Demonstrate Changes in Nonlinear Processing in Jhana Advanced Meditation". Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 37 (11): 2260–2283. doi:10.1162/JOCN.a.50. ISSN   1530-8898. PMID   40402036.
  49. Ehmann, Sebastian; Sezer, Idil; Keller, Arielle S.; Treves, Isaac N.; Sacchet, Matthew D. (2025-11-19). "Attention and meditative development: A review and synthesis of long-term meditators and outlook for the study of advanced meditation". NeuroImage. 323 121602. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121602. ISSN   1095-9572. PMID   41270843.
  50. Sacchet, Matthew D; Ho, Tiffany C; Connolly, Colm G; Tymofiyeva, Olga; Lewinn, Kaja Z; Han, Laura KM; Blom, Eva H; Tapert, Susan F; Max, Jeffrey E; Frank, Guido KW; Paulus, Martin P (November 2016). "Large-Scale Hypoconnectivity Between Resting-State Functional Networks in Unmedicated Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder". Neuropsychopharmacology. 41 (12): 2951–2960. doi:10.1038/npp.2016.76. ISSN   0893-133X. PMC   5061890 . PMID   27238621.
  51. Ho, Tiffany C; Sacchet, Matthew D; Connolly, Colm G; Margulies, Daniel S; Tymofiyeva, Olga; Paulus, Martin P; Simmons, Alan N; Gotlib, Ian H; Yang, Tony T (2017-05-29). "Inflexible Functional Connectivity of the Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder". Neuropsychopharmacology. 42 (12): 2434–2445. doi:10.1038/npp.2017.103. ISSN   0893-133X. PMC   5645733 . PMID   28553837.
  52. Pines, Adam R.; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Kullar, Monica; Ma, Jun; Williams, Leanne M. (2018-09-19). "Multi-unit relations among neural, self-report, and behavioral correlates of emotion regulation in comorbid depression and obesity". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 14032. Bibcode:2018NatSR...814032P. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32394-2. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6145883 . PMID   30232351. S2CID   52299935.
  53. Hamilton, J. Paul; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Hjørnevik, Trine; Chin, Frederick T.; Shen, Bin; Kämpe, Robin; Park, Jun Hyung; Knutson, Brian D.; Williams, Leanne M.; Borg, Nicholas; Zaharchuk, Greg (2018-11-30). "Striatal dopamine deficits predict reductions in striatal functional connectivity in major depression: a concurrent 11C-raclopride positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation". Translational Psychiatry. 8 (1): 264. doi:10.1038/s41398-018-0316-2. ISSN   2158-3188. PMC   6269434 . PMID   30504860.
  54. Sacchet, Matthew D; Prasad, Gautam; Foland-Ross, Lara C; Joshi, Shantanu H; Hamilton, J; Thompson, Paul M; Gotlib, Ian H (2014). "Structural abnormality of the corticospinal tract in major depressive disorder". Biology of Mood & Anxiety Disorders. 4 (1): 8. doi: 10.1186/2045-5380-4-8 . ISSN   2045-5380. PMC   4187017 . PMID   25295159.
  55. Sacchet, Matthew D.; Prasad, Gautam; Foland-Ross, Lara C.; Thompson, Paul M.; Gotlib, Ian H. (2015-02-18). "Support Vector Machine Classification of Major Depressive Disorder Using Diffusion-Weighted Neuroimaging and Graph Theory". Frontiers in Psychiatry. 6: 21. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00021 . ISSN   1664-0640. PMC   4332161 . PMID   25762941.
  56. Sacchet, Matthew D.; Livermore, Emily E.; Iglesias, Juan Eugenio; Glover, Gary H.; Gotlib, Ian H. (September 2015). "Subcortical volumes differentiate Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and remitted Major Depressive Disorder". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 68: 91–98. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.06.002. ISSN   0022-3956. PMC   11887997 . PMID   26228406.
  57. Foland-Ross, Lara C.; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Prasad, Gautam; Gilbert, Brooke; Thompson, Paul M.; Gotlib, Ian H. (2015-08-24). "Cortical thickness predicts the first onset of major depression in adolescence". International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience. 46 (1): 125–131. doi:10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2015.07.007. ISSN   0736-5748. PMC   4604750 . PMID   26315399.
  58. Kambeitz, Joseph; Cabral, Carlos; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Gotlib, Ian H.; Zahn, Roland; Serpa, Mauricio H.; Walter, Martin; Falkai, Peter; Koutsouleris, Nikolaos (September 2017). "Detecting Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Depression: A Meta-analysis of Multivariate Pattern Recognition Studies". Biological Psychiatry. 82 (5): 330–338. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.10.028. ISSN   0006-3223. PMC   11927514 . PMID   28110823. S2CID   1666174.
  59. Miller, Chris H.; Hamilton, J. Paul; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Gotlib, Ian H. (2015-10-01). "Meta-analysis of Functional Neuroimaging of Major Depressive Disorder in Youth". JAMA Psychiatry. 72 (10): 1045–1053. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1376 . ISSN   2168-622X. PMC   11890701 . PMID   26332700.
  60. Ho, Tiffany C.; Zhang, Shunan; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Weng, Helen; Connolly, Colm G.; Henje Blom, Eva; Han, Laura K. M.; Mobayed, Nisreen O.; Yang, Tony T. (2016-02-01). "Fusiform Gyrus Dysfunction is Associated with Perceptual Processing Efficiency to Emotional Faces in Adolescent Depression: A Model-Based Approach". Frontiers in Psychology. 7: 40. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00040 . ISSN   1664-1078. PMC   4740953 . PMID   26869950.
  61. Sacchet, Matthew D.; Camacho, M. Catalina; Livermore, Emily E.; Thomas, Ewart A.C.; Gotlib, Ian H. (2017-05-01). "Accelerated aging of the putamen in patients with major depressive disorder". Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience. 42 (3): 164–171. doi:10.1503/jpn.160010. ISSN   1180-4882. PMC   5403661 . PMID   27749245.
  62. Tymofiyeva, Olga; Connolly, Colm G.; Ho, Tiffany C.; Sacchet, Matthew D.; Henje Blom, Eva; LeWinn, Kaja Z.; Xu, Duan; Yang, Tony T. (January 2017). "DTI-based connectome analysis of adolescents with major depressive disorder reveals hypoconnectivity of the right caudate". Journal of Affective Disorders. 207: 18–25. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.09.013. ISSN   0165-0327. PMC   5107159 . PMID   27673479.