Using Electroencephalography to Advance Mindfulness Science: A Survey of Emerging Methods and Approaches.
Yanli Lin, Daniel A Atad, Anthony P Zanesco
Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognition Contemplative neuroscience EEG Erps Emotion |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key findings | EEG continues to offer exceptional promise for addressing key questions and challenges in contemplative neuroscience. |
Abstract
Throughout the brief history of contemplative neuroscience, electroencephalography (EEG) has been a valuable and enduring methodology used to elucidate the neural correlates and mechanisms of mindfulness. In this review, we provide a reminder that longevity should not be conflated with obsoletion and that EEG continues to offer exceptional promise for addressing key questions and challenges that pervade the field today. Toward this end, we first outline the unique advantages of EEG from a research strategy and experimental design perspective, then highlight an array of new sophisticated data analytic approaches and translational paradigms. Along the way, we provide illustrative examples from our own work and the broader literature to showcase how these innovations can be leveraged to spark new insights and stimulate progress across both basic science and translational applications of mindfulness. Ultimately, we argue that EEG still has much to contribute to contemplative neuroscience, and we hope to solicit the interest of other investigators to make full use of its capabilities in service of maximizing its potential within the field.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Decoding the Self: Single-Trial Prediction of Self-Boundary Meditation States From Magnetoencephalography Recordings. Human Brain Mapping 2026
- Meditation-Specific Neural Predictors of State Mindfulness During Eyes Open Meditation Mindfulness May 11, 2026
- Electroencephalography-Based Measures to Understand Meditation and Mindfulness: Bibliometric Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2026
- Meditation induces shifts in neural oscillations, brain complexity, and critical dynamics: novel insights from MEG. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2025
Cites 50
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- A Theoretically Based Index of Consciousness Independent of Sensory Processing and Behavior Science Translational Medicine August 14, 2013
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
and 45 more in the library