Long-term meditation practice alters connectivity within two key resting-state brain networks: the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN). Experienced meditators show enhanced self-referential processing in the DMN and reduced reactivity in the SN, suggesting that meditation refines attentional control and internal awareness. The study used dynamic causal modeling for EEG to analyze effective connectivity in a unique monastic population—monks and geshes from the Tibetan University of Sera Jey in India. These findings provide new insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying long-term meditation and highlight monastic practitioners as a valuable model for studying experience-related brain changes.
Advanced meditation in experienced Tibetan monks produces a unique psychophysiological state of relaxed-vigilance, characterized by enhanced parasympathetic tone, decreased respiratory rate, and gradually increasing electrodermal activity—indicating simultaneous calm and alertness. EEG recordings showed elevated gamma-band power during analytical meditations. These findings suggest that advanced meditative practices foster an adaptive integration of autonomic and cortical responses, supporting well-being and cognitive flexibility.
Concentrative meditation produces more numerous and marked changes in EEG power than analytical meditation, mainly increasing theta, alpha, and beta frequency ranges. Twenty-three Tibetan Buddhist monks and geshes from Sera-Jey Monastery in India participated in ecological EEG recordings within the monastery, performing analytical or concentrative meditation sessions at their best after a 5-minute baseline. The collaboration with the monastic community helped identify expert meditators and clarify differences between meditation types, addressing the limitation that heterogeneity of practices often hinders generalization of meditation research.