Mindfulness
August 15, 2025
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Robert J. Barry
5 citations
Paced breathing increased global brainwave amplitudes across all frequency bands and raised skin conductance, a measure of physiological arousal. Mindfulness meditation, by contrast, decreased global alpha brainwave amplitude while leaving other brainwave bands and skin conductance largely unchanged. The two practices thus produce distinct patterns of neural activity and arousal, suggesting they work through different underlying mechanisms to improve health.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
June 14, 2025
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Robert J. Barry et al.
3 citations
Mindfulness of breathing meditation reduces alpha brainwave activity (8-13 Hz) compared to resting, likely reflecting enhanced attentional engagement rather than a change in physiological arousal. In 42 young adults, electroencephalography and skin conductance were recorded during rest and meditation before and after six weeks of daily 15-minute mindfulness or music (active-control) practice. Post-training, the mindfulness group showed a smaller alpha reduction during meditation, particularly in frontal/posterior regions, suggesting a possible trait effect. Skin conductance decreased in both groups post-training, indicating reduced arousal, but no significant link was found between skin conductance and alpha amplitude. These findings support mindfulness meditation as a state of relaxed alertness and highlight alpha band activity's role in attentional control, which may contribute to health benefits like improved emotional regulation and cognitive functioning.
Mindfulness
May 26, 2026
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Robert J. Barry
Intentionally slowing the breath during mindfulness meditation produces distinct effects on brain activity and physiological arousal compared with allowing breathing to occur naturally. In a single session, participants who practiced paced breathing showed a larger increase in theta brainwave amplitude and a smaller decrease in alpha amplitude than those breathing spontaneously. Beta amplitude and skin conductance—a measure of sympathetic arousal—increased during paced breathing but decreased during spontaneous breathing. These results indicate that breath control shapes the psychophysiological effects of mindfulness meditation, potentially influencing attentional and arousal processes relevant to well-being and psychological disorders.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
November 1, 2024
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Robert J. Barry
Mindfulness meditation produces a state of relaxed alertness marked by specific changes in brain waves, but these changes are not linked to physiological arousal. In 52 healthy young adults, traditional alpha brain wave amplitude (8–13 Hz) decreased during meditation compared to rest, while a complex delta-theta-alpha component identified through a data-driven method increased. Low alpha (~9.5 Hz) and low alpha-beta (~11 Hz) components decreased. No significant differences appeared in delta, theta, beta, gamma, or high alpha waves, nor in skin conductance level (a measure of arousal). The findings indicate that meditation-related neural changes are associated with attention and awareness rather than changes in arousal.
International Journal of Psychophysiology
November 1, 2024
Alexander T. Duda, A. Clarke, Robert J. Barry et al.
Breath-focused mindfulness meditation, practiced daily for six weeks, alters brain wave patterns related to attention and awareness. In a randomized trial with 40 novice meditators, those who meditated daily showed a smaller reduction in alpha brain waves during meditation compared to rest, while a control group listening to classical music did not. Theta waves increased over time in both groups. Beta waves remained stable in the meditation group but varied in the control group. No changes were seen in delta or gamma waves. The findings suggest that regular mindfulness practice may sharpen attention by stabilizing certain neural oscillations, though more research is needed to link these changes to health benefits.
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience
March 1, 2023
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Frances M. De Blasio et al.
Novice meditators who practiced daily concentrative meditation for about a month showed changes in specific brain wave components during both meditation and resting states. Using frequency Principal Components Analysis (f-PCA), four spectral components were identified: Delta-Theta-Alpha, Low Alpha, High Alpha, and Alpha-Beta. All four components increased during meditation at the second session, but only Low Alpha (around 9.5-10.0 Hz) showed similar increases during resting. The findings support f-PCA as a novel method for analyzing psychophysiological states in meditation research.