Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
March 21, 2020
Haiteng Jiang, Bin He, Xiaoli Guo et al.
40 citations
Meditation alters how the brain represents signals from the heart, particularly within the default mode network (DMN), and reorganizes large-scale brain networks. In a large group of long-term Tibetan Buddhist monks, meditation produced distinct, transient changes in the brain's response to heartbeats in the DMN and reconfigurations of EEG gamma and theta band networks. Theta-band connectivity between temporal and frontal regions decreased with more meditation experience, and gamma oscillations became directionally coupled to theta oscillations during meditation. These findings suggest that changes in the neural representation of cardiac activity and large-scale network integration underlie meditation's effects, implying that meditation induces both immediate and lasting plasticity in brain organization.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
December 20, 2022
Jeehyun Kim, Xiyuan Jiang, Dylan Forenzo et al.
4 citations
A 20-minute guided mindfulness meditation session does not significantly improve control of a sensorimotor rhythm-based brain-computer interface. Thirty-seven subjects performed cursor control tasks before and after either a meditation exercise or a control condition of listening to a journal article. No significant change in BCI performance or EEG control signal occurred in either group, and the difference between groups was not significant. The findings suggest that longer meditation practice is needed to enhance SMR-based BCI control.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
September 9, 2020
Xiyuan Jiang, Emily Lopez, James Stieger et al.
2 citations
preprint
Meditators outperformed non-meditators in brain-computer interface (BCI) cursor control tasks using motor imagery. Experienced meditators showed better performance in both 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional tasks, and fewer meditators were unable to generate decodable EEG signals. Meditators also had higher sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) predictor values and were better able to produce decodable EEG signals for SMR-based BCI control, suggesting meditation training may improve BCI performance.
Scientific Reports
March 25, 2021
Haiteng Jiang, James Stieger, Mary Jo Kreitzer et al.
Training in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) improves brain-computer interface (BCI) performance by reducing mind wandering and enhancing self-awareness. In a longitudinal intervention study, participants who completed MBSR showed significantly better BCI control compared to controls. This improvement was accompanied by increased frontolimbic alpha activity (9-15 Hz) and decreased alpha connectivity among the limbic network, frontoparietal network, and default-mode network. The changes in frontolimbic alpha activity correlated positively with meditation experience duration and the extent of BCI performance improvement. The findings suggest that mindfulness enables participants to modulate frontolimbic alpha power, thereby improving sensorimotor rhythm-based BCI control.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
January 21, 2021
Xiyuan Jiang, Emily Lopez, James Stieger et al.
Experienced meditators outperformed meditation-naïve subjects in one-dimensional and two-dimensional cursor control tasks using a sensorimotor rhythm-based brain–computer interface. Fewer meditators were classified as BCI inefficient. Meditators also showed a higher resting SMR predictor, more stable resting mu rhythm, and larger control signal contrast during the task, suggesting that meditation training may enhance BCI performance.