October 8, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Brian Lord, Erica Cook et al.
preprint
Emerging research suggests some of the most profound meditation-induced psychological transformations require mastery of mental skills that enable access to advanced meditative states, stages, and endpoints. Such development, however, often demands years of sustained practice and expert guidance. Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) offers a novel means of potentially supporting meditative...
Mindfulness (N Y)
September 26, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Nicholas T. van Dam, Sunjeev K. Kamboj et al.
3 citations
Neurofeedback Training Facilitates Awareness and Enhances Emotional Well-being Associated with Real-World Meditation Practice: A 7-T MRI Study.
bioRxiv
September 25, 2025
Jakub Vohryzek, Edmundo Lopez-Sola, Winson F.z. Yang et al.
preprint
Advanced meditation offers a powerful lens for investigating consciousness and for understanding how sustained training may contribute to human flourishing. In the spirit of neurophenomenology, we combine first-person reports with model-free empirical analyses and formal whole-brain modeling to investigate the mechanisms underlying advanced meditative states and minimal phenomenal experience...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
September 19, 2025
Kenneth Shinozuka, Winson F.z. Yang, Ruby M. Potash et al.
3 citations
preprint
In some contemplative traditions, “extended cessation” (EC) refers to a state of advanced meditation in which the meditator intentionally suppresses their own consciousness and re-emerges with a profound sense of clarity and equanimity. Here, we present the first electrophysiological study of EC, in which five meditators underwent concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) and...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
September 6, 2025
Winson F.z. Yang, Akila Kadambi, Kilian Abellaneda-Pérez et al.
4 citations
preprint
Extended cessation (EC), an advanced meditative state in which consciousness is volitionally suspended and later reset with immense mental clarity, equanimity, and peace, offers an endogenous model for investigating the mechanisms of consciousness. Using ultra-high-resolution 7T fMRI with dense within-subject sampling (N=3), we quantified whole-brain activity, functional and effective...
Mindfulness
July 29, 2025
Terje Sparby, Matthew D. Sacchet
6 citations
While there exists a large body of research on the possibility of measuring certain aspects of human development, what might be called inner development has mostly been neglected, in particular as it pertains to advanced meditation. A central aspect of this kind of development, which we call meditative development, is associated with access to bliss, peace, wisdom, and the reduction of...
medRxiv
July 29, 2025
Yuwen He, Shan Lei, Wangli Si et al.
preprint
Abstract Background Somatic awareness is a fundamental practice for novice mindfulness practitioners. It has been proposed that mindfulness meditation training (MMT) enhances brain function through somatic awareness in both non-clinical and clinical populations. However, the neural signatures underlying this mechanism remain poorly understood. Methods In our study, we conducted mindfulness...
Mindfulness
June 11, 2025
Terje Sparby, Matthew D. Sacchet
11 citations
Abstract Research on meditation and mindfulness in relation to challenging effects can be understood as consisting of at least two waves: The first wave focused on the efficacy of mindfulness and more broadly the clinically positive effects of meditation. The second wave mainly focused on increasing methodological rigor and uncovering underlying mechanisms. Research on the different kinds and...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
June 1, 2025
Idil Sezer, Matthew D. Sacchet
14 citations
Meditation has become prominent in both clinical and non-clinical applications for its effects on psychological and physical well-being. Long-term meditators, who have dedicated extensive time to their practice, present a unique opportunity to explore the effects of prolonged meditation training on the autonomic nervous system. Research has reported concomitant activation of both sympathetic...
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
May 14, 2025
Ruby M. Potash, Sean D. Van Mil, Mar Estarellas et al.
7 citations
We present a neurophenomenological case study investigating distinct neural connectivity regimes during an advanced concentrative absorption meditation called jhana (ACAM-J), characterized by highly stable attention and mental absorption. Using EEG recordings and phenomenological ratings (29 sessions) from a meditator with +20,000 hr of practice, we evaluated connectivity metrics tracking...
Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
April 28, 2025
Malcolm J. Wright, Vanessa L. Cha, Melissa R. Streifert et al.
Emergent phenomena (EP)—sudden unusual mental or somatic experiences—are surprisingly widespread. Although EP often lead to positive impacts on well-being, they are sometimes followed by intense suffering. We examine potential risk factors and protective factors for EP and related suffering using logistic regression on general-population survey data (n = 3,133). The four strongest risk factors...
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Ruchika S Prakash, Anita Shankar, Vaibhav Tripathi et al.
13 citations
Network neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field, which can be used to understand the brain by examining the connections between its constituent elements. In recent years, the application of network neuroscience approaches to study the intricate nature of the structural and functional relationships within the human brain has yielded unique insights into its organization. In this review, we...
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Fernando A Barrios, Ishaan Batta et al.
6 citations
Meditation is a family of ancient and contemporary contemplative mind-body practices that can modulate psychological processes, awareness, and mental states. Over the last 40 years, clinical science has manualized meditation practices and designed various meditation interventions that have shown therapeutic efficacy for disorders including depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety. Over the past...
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
April 1, 2025
Umay Demir, Winson Fu Zun Yang, Matthew D. Sacchet
5 citations
There is growing scientific interest in advanced meditation, and particularly the Theravada Buddhist advanced concentrative absorption meditation known as jhana (ACAM-J). ACAM-J includes a series of eight consecutive meditative states, which are radically altered states of consciousness. The neuroscience of ACAM-J, specifically brain reorganization, remains underspecified in part due to the...
Brain Imaging and Behavior
April 1, 2025
Jovan Jande, Isaac N Treves, Samantha L Ely et al.
4 citations
This systematic narrative review examines neuroimaging studies that investigated the neural correlates of mindfulness-based interventions in youth (ages 0-18). We extracted 13 studies with a total of 467 participants aged 5-18 years from the MEDLINE database on February 21st, 2024. These studies included both typically developing youth and those at risk of developing or recovering from...
February 6, 2025
Rosalind McAlpine, Merve Utanğaç, Joanna Kuć et al.
2 citations
preprint
The potential of meditation as a preparatory tool for psychedelic experiences lacks empirical investigation. We surveyed experienced practitioners (N=123) with substantial histories in both meditation and psychedelic use to examine meditation’s role in psychedelic preparation. Respondents expected meditation training to primarily enhance acceptance and present-moment focus during psychedelic...
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
February 5, 2025
Ruby M. Potash, Winson F.z. Yang, Brian Winston et al.
11 citations
Advanced meditation has been associated with long- and short-term psychological changes such as bliss, profound insight, and transformation of well-being. However, most advanced meditation neuroimaging analyses have implemented primarily spatially-localized approaches, focusing on discrete regional changes in activity rather than distributed dynamics. The present study uses a geometric...
Neuroimage
2025
Winson F.z. Yang, Avijit Chowdhury, Terje Sparby et al.
12 citations
The stages of insight (SoI) are a series of psychological realizations experienced through advanced investigative insight meditation (AIIM). SoI provide a powerful structured framework of AIIM for understanding and evaluating insight-based meditative development through changes in perception, experiences of self, cognition, and emotional processing. Yet, the neurophenomenology of SoI remains...
Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Idil Sezer, Isaac N Treves et al.
9 citations
Mindfulness meditation is a systematic training in equanimity, sensory clarity, and concentration rooted in ancient contemplative traditions. Here, we synthesized cognitive-behavioral outcomes in long-term meditators (LTMs) resulting from diverse, prolonged meditation practices. Preliminary evidence suggests that LTMs exhibit increased cognitive-sensory integration and decoupling of affective...
Imaging Neuroscience
2025
Jonathan M. Lieberman, Patrick A. McConnell, Mar Estarellas et al.
9 citations
Focused attention meditation (FA) is a foundational and widely studied practice that cultivates sustained concentration by focusing on a specific object, such as the breath, while disengaging from distractions. Numerous studies have investigated the neurophysiological mechanisms of FA, examining aspects such as spectral power, connectivity patterns, and neural entropy. However, despite this...
Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
2025
Isaac N Treves, Winson F.z. Yang, Terje Sparby et al.
6 citations
Advanced meditation consists of states and stages of practice that unfold with mastery and time. Dynamic functional connectivity (DFC) analysis of fMRI could identify brain states underlying advanced meditation. We conducted an intensive DFC case study of a meditator who completed 27 runs of jhāna advanced absorptive concentration meditation (ACAM-J), concurrently with 7-T fMRI and...
Frontiers in Psychiatry
2025
Kaveh Rayani, Andrea Grabovac, Peter Chan et al.
2 citations
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, negative mood, and avoidant behaviors. Therapies involving mindfulness have been shown to reduce PTSD symptoms and modulate brain function. Pharmacological and brain stimulation interventions are also effective for treating PTSD. Non-invasive repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the...
Neuroscience of Consciousness
2025
Catherine Prueitt, Idil Sezer, Matthew D. Sacchet
The motivational force of pain is undeniable. But what pain commands us to do, how we might satisfy this command, and if our experience of pain is inherently linked to suffering are far murkier topics. This paper brings together empirical studies of pain reprocessing during advanced meditation, the rise of allostatic paradigms to account for biological self-regulation, and the philosophy of...
Neuroimage
December 14, 2024
Avijit Chowdhury, Marta Bianciardi, Eric Chapdelaine et al.
14 citations
Multimodal neurophenomenology of advanced concentration absorption meditation: An intensively sampled case study of Jhana.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Kannammai Pichappan, Jude Hammoud et al.
35 citations
Trait self-report mindfulness scales measure one's disposition to pay nonjudgmental attention to the present moment. Concerns have been raised about the validity of trait mindfulness scales. Despite this, there is extensive literature correlating mindfulness scales with objective brain measures, with the goal of providing insight into mechanisms of mindfulness, and insight into associated...