EEG brain reconfiguration during meditation-induced extended cessation of consciousness: A dense-sampling multi-participant microstate study
bioRxiv Preprint Server February 10, 2026 David Zarka, Winson F.z. Yang, Abel Rassat et al. preprint
Extended cessation (EC) is a rare meditative state in which conscious experience temporarily stops, followed by heightened perception and emotional balance. In five highly trained meditators, electroencephalographic microstate analysis revealed that EC altered brain activity patterns linked to self-referential processing. Specifically, microstate B occurred less often and for shorter durations, while microstate C occurred more often and for longer durations. Transition probabilities also shifted, with more transitions from A and B to C and fewer from A to B. These changes appeared across delta, theta, and beta frequency bands, with additional band-specific effects for microstates A and D. The findings suggest EC involves a reweighting of self-referential and sensory processes.