Brain criticality and advanced meditation “cessation” events: An intensively sampled electroencephalography case study
IBRO Neuroscience Reports August 1, 2026 Remko van Lutterveld, Thomas Cahaly, Lukas van Herk et al.
In a single advanced meditator, brain activity moved toward a critical point—an optimal state for information processing—around meditative cessation events. Analysis of EEG data from 37 cessations showed a spike in the whole-brain detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) exponent starting 11.3 to 3.1 seconds before cessation, indicating strengthened long-range temporal correlations. This elevation persisted from 3.1 to 23.6 seconds after cessation. Effects were strongest in central, right frontal, and posterior channels, with some frontal channels entering supercritical territory. A temporary drop in the mean DFA exponent occurred at cessation onset, followed by a peak near or just above the critical point. The findings suggest large-scale modulation of brain criticality related to cessations.