Meditation induces shifts in neural oscillations, brain complexity, and critical dynamics: novel insights from MEG.
Neuroscience of Consciousness January 1, 2025 Annalisa Pascarella, Philipp Thölke, David Meunier et al.
Expert Buddhist monks practicing Samatha (focused-attention) and Vipassana (open-monitoring) meditation showed increased neural signal complexity and widespread reductions in gamma-band long-range temporal correlations and 1/f slope compared to resting state. Analysis of deviation from criticality revealed distinct computational states between the two practices, suggesting their different phenomenological properties arise from specific dynamic characteristics. Contrary to most prior reports, oscillatory gamma power decreased during meditation, a difference attributed to correcting the power spectrum for broadband 1/f activity. These findings advance understanding of neural processes underlying focused-attention and open-monitoring meditation.