Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
August 31, 2023
Baoxiang Shang, Feiyan Duan, Ruiqi Fu et al.
28 citations
Short-term mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training produces electroencephalogram (EEG)-detectable state and trait effects. Using convolutional neural networks (deep learning) and support vector machines (SVM) with features from common spatial patterns, classifiers were trained on EEG from 11 novice MBSR practitioners during rest and meditation at early and late training stages. Shallow ConvNet classifiers achieved mix-subject and intra-subject accuracies superior to prior studies for both novice and expert meditators across meditation types. FBCSP+SVM classifiers gave inter-subject accuracies of 68.50% for state effect recognition, 85.00% for trait effect recognition using meditation EEG, and 78.96% using resting EEG. Deep learning outperforms for state effects in novices and is comparable for experts.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 22, 2022
Junling Gao, Hang Kin Leung, Jicong Fan et al.
9 citations
Compassion meditation, a component of the Awareness Training Program, can help regulate negative emotions by modulating brain activity and physiological responses. After seven weeks of training, middle-aged adults with moderate stress who practiced compassion meditation showed greater prefrontal brain activity (measured by the N400 component) when viewing negative pictures, compared to a control group. Compassion meditation also increased heart rate variability, indicating better emotional regulation. These effects occurred across stages of attention, cognitive processing, and behavioral response, with the prefrontal lobe playing a key role.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
January 1, 2025
Junling Gao, Hang Kin Leung, Kin Cheung George Lee et al.
6 citations
Mindfulness meditation and 6 Hz high-entropy music both alter adolescent brain dynamics, but in distinct ways. In twenty-eight high school students, single-channel EEG at the forehead during three 5-minute conditions—rest, meditation, and music—showed that music produced the strongest alpha-band synchronization across participants, followed by meditation, then rest. Meditation yielded the highest clustering coefficient and small-world index, indicating more integrated and efficient neural networks. Music generated the largest information cascades and synergy, suggesting extensive information integration. While both interventions changed brain dynamics compared to rest, meditation fostered integrated connectivity, whereas music produced the greatest element-wise correlation.
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
September 5, 2025
Kin Cheung George Lee, Hin Hung Sik, Hang Kin Leung et al.
Long-term Can-Hua-Tou (Chan/Zen) meditation practice is associated with distinct high-frequency brain activity patterns. Experienced monks showed elevated beta and gamma brainwave activity across all conditions compared to novice practitioners, with the most pronounced difference in gamma band activity over fronto-parietal regions. Unlike relaxation-based meditation styles that increase alpha and theta waves, Chan meditation produces a profile dominated by beta-gamma dynamics, consistent with the Buddhist concept of one-pointed concentration and vigilance during self-inquiry. Novice practitioners showed negligible beta or gamma modulation. These findings indicate that different contemplative strategies produce distinct neurophysiological changes, with intensive cognitive meditation linked to enduring high-frequency cortical synchrony.
Heliyon
September 1, 2023
Junling Gao, Hang Kin Leung, B. W. Wu et al.
Long-term intuitive inquiry meditation, a Buddhist Zen/Chan practice that uses doubt and belief to explore the self, alters brain activity related to self- and Buddha-schema processing differently depending on experience level. In an event-related potential study, beginner meditators showed reduced brain activity when viewing Buddha images but not when viewing themselves, while experienced meditators (monks) showed reduced brain activity when viewing themselves but not when viewing Buddha images. Experienced meditators also had greater theta power and higher intertrial coherence, suggesting more flexible cognitive modulation. These results indicate that intuitive inquiry meditation helps beginners detach from the concept of Buddha, whereas experienced practitioners become spontaneously detached from the self.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
June 19, 2023
Junling Gao, R. Sun, Hang Kin Leung et al.
After 8 weeks of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training, the correlation between alpha brain wave frequency and heart coherence increased significantly in the middle frontal and bilateral temporal regions. Alpha coherence and heart coherence showed similar changes, but alpha peak power did not. Standard spectrum analysis alone showed no difference before and after training. Individual alpha peak frequency is relatively stable, and its interplay with cardiac activity may be a more sensitive measure of brain-heart connection than power spectrum. This preliminary study involved eleven participants aged 28–52 years.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
September 1, 2022
G. Wong, R. Sun, J. Adler et al.
A single Buddhist monk performed one 10-minute Loving-Kindness Meditation session between two 10-minute resting periods. Electroencephalography (EEG) showed a significant increase in theta power at both frontal and parietal sites, and heart rate decreased significantly between pre- and post-resting tasks. Theta power was negatively correlated with heart rate and positively correlated with a self-designed report score. These neurophysiological changes suggest that Loving-Kindness Meditation is accompanied by slower brain frequencies and reduced heart rate, with subjective psychological assessments linked to objective measurements in this long-term meditator.
Scientific Reports
March 12, 2019
Junling Gao, Hang Kin Leung, Bonnie Wai Yan Wu et al.
Religious chanting produces a distinctive pattern of brain activity, with the posterior cingulate cortex showing the largest decrease in eigenvector centrality, potentially due to delta oscillations generated within that region. These effects are not explained by heart rate, breathing, or implicit language processing. The findings suggest that the neural correlates of religious chanting differ from those of meditation and prayer, and may produce unique psychotherapeutic effects.
Neuroscience Letters
March 11, 2016
Junling Gao, Jicong Fan, B. W. Wu et al.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training alters electrical activity in the brain and heart, making them more coordinated. During an 8-week standard MBSR course, EEG recordings showed increased alpha and beta wave power and decreased delta wave power compared to normal rest. Wavelet entropy analysis indicated that MBSR meditation reduces chaotic activity in both EEG and heart rate as a temporary state change, though longer training may be needed for lasting trait changes. For the first time, the data demonstrated that chaotic brain and heart activities become more coordinated during MBSR, suggesting mindfulness enhances mind-body entrainment. Specific 3D brain regions involved in these mental state changes were identified.