Interbrain synchronization in classroom during high-entropy music listening and meditation: a hyperscanning EEG study.
Junling Gao, Hang Kin Leung, Kin Cheung George Lee, Chun Chi Poon, Gan Huang, Junhao Liao, Bonnie Wai Yan Wu, Thuan Quoc Thach, Rainbow Tin Hung Ho, Hin Hung Sik
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1557904 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects experimental design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 28 |
| Population | High school students |
| Interventions | Mindfulness meditation 6 Hz high-entropy music |
| Duration | Three 5-minute conditions |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | EEG Adolescence Brain synchronization High-entropy music Hyperscanning Social connectedness |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key findings | 6 Hz high-entropy music induced the strongest brain synchronization, while meditation produced more integrated and efficient neural networks. |
Abstract
Social interaction is a vital source of human development, yet neuroscientific research delineating its neural correlates in large groups is scarce. Music as a rhythmic signal, and meditation, have been shown to induce group synchronization and pro-social behavior. However, their impact on adolescents may vary, and the related brain functions remain underexplored. This study investigates the effects of mindfulness meditation and 6 Hz high-entropy music on brain synchronization and complexity in high school students. Twenty-eight adolescents underwent single-channel EEG at the forehead during three 5-minute conditions: rest, meditation, and 6 Hz high-entropy music. Alpha band power correlations assessed synchronization. Graph analyses quantified network properties. Mean correlation was highest during music, then meditation, and lowest during rest, with significant differences between music and both rest and meditation. Meditation had the highest clustering coefficient and small-world index, suggesting more integrated and efficient networks. Music demonstrated the largest information cascades and synergy, indicating extensive information integration. 6 Hz high-entropy music induced the strongest synchronization. While meditation and music altered brain dynamics compared to rest, they worked distinctly. Meditation yielded more integrated connectivity; music yielded the greatest element-wise correlation. Future research with larger samples is recommended to optimize interventions for adolescent well-being and social connectedness.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Neural mechanisms of symptom improvements in generalized anxiety disorder following mindfulness training NeuroImage: Clinical 2013
- Contemplative Education: A Systematic, Evidence-Based Review of the effect of Meditation Interventions in Schools Educational Psychology Review March 1, 2015
- Brain Responses to a 6-Hz Binaural Beat: Effects on General Theta Rhythm and Frontal Midline Theta Activity. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2017
and 1 more in the library