International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
June 14, 2025
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Robert J. Barry et al.
3 citations
Mindfulness of breathing meditation reduces alpha brainwave activity (8-13 Hz) compared to resting, likely reflecting enhanced attentional engagement rather than a change in physiological arousal. In 42 young adults, electroencephalography and skin conductance were recorded during rest and meditation before and after six weeks of daily 15-minute mindfulness or music (active-control) practice. Post-training, the mindfulness group showed a smaller alpha reduction during meditation, particularly in frontal/posterior regions, suggesting a possible trait effect. Skin conductance decreased in both groups post-training, indicating reduced arousal, but no significant link was found between skin conductance and alpha amplitude. These findings support mindfulness meditation as a state of relaxed alertness and highlight alpha band activity's role in attentional control, which may contribute to health benefits like improved emotional regulation and cognitive functioning.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
November 1, 2024
Alexander T. Duda, Adam R. Clarke, Robert J. Barry
Mindfulness meditation produces a state of relaxed alertness marked by specific changes in brain waves, but these changes are not linked to physiological arousal. In 52 healthy young adults, traditional alpha brain wave amplitude (8–13 Hz) decreased during meditation compared to rest, while a complex delta-theta-alpha component identified through a data-driven method increased. Low alpha (~9.5 Hz) and low alpha-beta (~11 Hz) components decreased. No significant differences appeared in delta, theta, beta, gamma, or high alpha waves, nor in skin conductance level (a measure of arousal). The findings indicate that meditation-related neural changes are associated with attention and awareness rather than changes in arousal.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
June 1, 2023
Sarah Diezig, Melissa Spaar, Simone Denzer et al.
The ability to organize self-generated thought into coherent, meaningful semantic representations is a central aspect of human cognition and undergoes regular alterations throughout the day. To investigate whether changes in semantic processing might explain the loss of coherence, logic, and voluntary control over thinking typically accompanying the transition to sleep, N400 evoked potentials were recorded from 44 healthy subjects. Auditory word pairs with varying semantic distance were presented while subjects were allowed to fall asleep. Semantic distance reliably elicited an N400, and lower wakefulness levels were associated with increased frontal negativity. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, the results showed an increased N400 effect with decreasing wakefulness, suggesting that semantic processes alone may not explain diminished thought control during sleep onset.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
November 1, 2022
S V Medvedev, J A Boytsova, Y A Bubeev et al.
During Buddhist meditations that involve one-pointed concentration, analytical meditation on bodhicitta and emptiness, and tantric visualizations, auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in 115 Buddhist monks show decreased mismatch negativity amplitudes, decreased N1 and P2 amplitudes to deviant stimuli, and decreased P3a amplitudes to novel stimuli compared to a control state of relaxed wakefulness. These outcomes suggest that such meditations are accompanied by a reduction in the physiological processes responsible for maintaining attention on the outside world and recognizing changes in sensory stimuli.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
May 1, 2016
Georg Northoff
A theory is proposed that slow cortical potentials (SCPs), a type of low-frequency brain fluctuation, are a neural predisposition of consciousness. SCPs integrate stimuli from different brain regions into one converging region due to their long phase duration. The hypothesis suggests that SCPs encode statistically based temporal differences between discrete time points rather than the points themselves, enabling a "local temporal continuity" of neural activity. This local continuity is linked to the phenomenal experience of time, specifically the "width of present" described by Husserl—the extension of the present moment beyond a single discrete point, as when hearing a melody. The degree of this width is proposed to depend on the encoded temporal differences, positioning SCPs as a neural predisposition for consciousness, distinct from a neural correlate.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
May 1, 2016
Sultan Tarlacı, Massimo Pregnolato
The quantum brain is a general framework with four distinct sub-topics often incorrectly used interchangeably. The first concerns the role of consciousness in the measurement problem of quantum mechanics, a debate lasting nearly a century. The second, quantum biology, investigates whether quantum physical rules operate in biological structures; recent research on photosynthesis, smell, and magnetic direction finding in animals suggests they may. The third, quantum neurobiology, examines quantum laws in the nervous system, though it remains early-stage. The fourth, quantum psychopathology, proposes that if quantum physics is involved in normal brain function, conditions like depression, anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia, and hallucinations could be explained by quantum physical pathology. This article reviews these topics and provides a first general classification for quantum brain theory.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
October 1, 2015
W P Wong, D A Camfield, W Woods et al.
Long-term mindfulness meditators with over five years of experience show distinct brain activity patterns during eyes-open rest and open-monitoring meditation compared to meditation-naïve individuals. During resting with eyes-open, meditators had greater mean alpha power. During meditation, control participants showed a significantly greater increase in theta power over a broad fronto-centro-parietal region than meditators. Meditators had significantly greater whole-head mean connectivity in the theta band during both rest and meditation, but significantly lower mean connectivity in the low gamma band during rest and in both low and high gamma bands during meditation. The variance of low-gamma connectivity scores was also significantly decreased for meditators.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
July 1, 2015
Anna-Lena Lumma, Bethany E Kok, Tania Singer
Meditation is not always relaxing; some types require mental effort and increase physiological arousal. In a year-long training study, three meditation types—breathing, loving-kindness, and observing-thoughts—were practiced daily for three months each. Loving-kindness and observing-thoughts meditation produced higher heart rate and greater perceived effort than breathing meditation. Over time, heart rate and likeability increased while heart rate variability and effort decreased. The increases in heart rate and decreases in heart rate variability were larger for loving-kindness and observing-thoughts meditation. These findings suggest that meditations aimed at compassion and meta-cognitive skills involve effort and arousal, which may help tailor meditation recommendations to specific contexts.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
November 1, 2013
Luis Carlos Delgado-Pastor, Pandelis Perakakis, Pailoor Subramanya et al.
Experienced Vipassana meditators showed greater P3b brain-wave amplitudes to target tones after a 30-minute meditation session compared with before meditation or after a no-meditation rest session, indicating increased attentional engagement. They also exhibited a larger increase in the LF/HF heart rate variability ratio during meditation, suggesting enhanced autonomic regulation. These findings partially support the idea that mindfulness, rooted in Vipassana, improves awareness of present experience and emotional self-regulation.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
September 1, 2013
Jonathan R. Krygier, James A J Heathers, Sara Shahrestani et al.
A 10-day intensive Vipassana meditation retreat increased well-being and decreased ill-being in 36 participants. Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured during a 5-minute resting baseline and a 5-minute meditation session before and after the retreat. During meditation after the retreat, normalized high-frequency power increased and Traube-Hering-Mayer waves decreased compared to baseline, indicating a shift in baroreflex activity rather than increased parasympathetic activity. These changes are consistent with attentional load and the concept of 'flow'—a state of full immersion in an activity. The results align with HRV changes reported in other meditation studies.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
August 1, 2013
Sarah Laxhmi Chellappa, Christian Cajochen
Dreams occur during both NREM and REM sleep, which are regulated by homeostatic, ultradian, and circadian processes. This review examines whether the ultradian NREM-REM cycle, gated by the circadian clock, influences successful dream recall, and identifies key electrophysiological correlates of dream recall during both sleep stages. It also explores age-related changes in the circadian and ultradian regulation of dream recall and its EEG correlates. Understanding the specific frequency and topographical EEG differences before dream recall may reveal the cerebral mechanisms underlying this cognitive process and their physiological significance.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
September 1, 2011
Frederick Travis
Practicing the TM-Sidhi program, which involves a combined state of fixity, transcending, and pure consciousness, produces distinct brain activity compared to the Transcendental Meditation technique alone. In experienced meditators randomly assigned to either two TM sessions or one TM session followed by TM-Sidhi practice, the TM-Sidhi condition showed higher frontal alpha1 and beta1 brainwave amplitudes. Source localization revealed alpha1 activity in right-hemisphere areas involved in object recognition and holistic word representation, such as the parahippocampus and fusiform gyrus. These patterns align with descriptions of sanyama as encompassing both specific content and holistic awareness.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
May 1, 2011
Xinjun Yu, Masaki Fumoto, Yasushi Nakatani et al.
Focused attention on lower-abdomen breathing (Tanden) for 20 minutes increased oxygenated hemoglobin in the anterior prefrontal cortex, a region linked to attention, in 15 healthy novices. This was accompanied by reduced negative mood, increased alpha brainwave activity, decreased theta activity, and a rise in whole blood serotonin levels. The findings suggest that activation of the prefrontal cortex and serotonin system may underlie the mood improvements and EEG changes observed during this form of Zen meditation.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
October 1, 2009
Valdas Noreika, Katja Valli, Hetti Lahtela et al.
A new experimental paradigm called Early-Night Serial Awakenings (ENSA) was tested to assess its usefulness for studying NREM sleep dreaming. Five participants spent 20 nights in a sleep laboratory and were awakened every 24 minutes during Stages 2 and 3 of NREM sleep. Out of 164 awakenings, 30% produced dream reports, 39% reports of white dreaming, and 31% reports of dreamless sleep. Sleep EEG power, dream recall frequency, and dream complexity remained stable across sessions. The authors conclude that ENSA yields static, content-limited dreams and could help reveal the psychophysiological mechanisms of simple early-night NREM dreaming.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
April 1, 2009
B Rael Cahn, John Polich
Experienced Vipassana meditators showed reduced brain responses to unexpected sounds during meditation compared to a control thought period. The strongest effect was a smaller P3a wave to distracting white noise, indicating less automatic attentional engagement with irrelevant stimuli. This reduction was strongest in those who meditated more hours daily and absent in those who felt drowsy. The findings suggest meditation can dampen neurophysiologic processes underlying reactivity to distractions, consistent with Vipassana's aim of reducing cognitive and emotional reactivity.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
February 1, 2009
Fred Travis, David A F Haaga, John Hagelin et al.
College students who learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) showed improved brain integration scores and reduced sleepiness over ten weeks, while those who had not yet learned showed declines or no change. The study also found differences in how quickly students adapted to repeated loud tones. These results suggest that practicing TM may benefit college students' cognitive and physiological functioning.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
May 1, 2006
Hermann Haken
The brain is a self-organizing system that operates near points of instability, where collective variables called order parameters govern the activity of individual neurons. This principle is demonstrated through experimental and theoretical studies of finger movement coordination and MEG measurements. The paper focuses on visual pattern recognition, showing that bistability, hysteresis, and oscillations in visual perception can be modeled using order parameters. At the microscopic level, a network of pulse-coupled neurons accounts for both pulse synchronization and pattern recognition. The concept of quasi-attractors is introduced to describe how the visual system shifts between states depending on incoming signals. The paper also interprets consciousness in terms of order parameters and discusses nonlinearity, the binding problem, and the psychological present.
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology
February 1, 2005
Tetsuya Takahashi, Tetsuhito Murata, Toshihiko Hamada et al.
During Zen meditation, brainwave activity shifts toward increased fast theta and slow alpha power in the frontal area, while heart rate variability indicates greater parasympathetic and reduced sympathetic activity. These changes correlate with specific personality traits: increased slow alpha power, reflecting internalized attention, is linked to higher novelty seeking scores and reduced sympathetic indices; increased fast theta power, reflecting mindfulness, is linked to higher harm avoidance scores and greater parasympathetic activity. The findings suggest that internalized attention and mindfulness during meditation involve distinct psychophysiological and personality profiles.