Personality Correlates of EEG Change during Meditation
Psychological Reports April 1, 1977 Thomas K. Akers, Don M Tucker, Randy S. Roth et al.
Fifteen seminary students who regularly practiced a form of Christian meditation took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and had their electroencephalographic (EEG) signals recorded. Alpha brainwave activity was measured during mental arithmetic tasks and during meditation. Higher scores on the Hypochondriasis scale of the MMPI were linked to an increase in alpha activity when moving from arithmetic to meditation. The finding is discussed in relation to past research, baseline alpha levels, and possible therapeutic uses of meditation.