Intrinsic neural timescales exhibit different lengths in distinct meditation techniques.
Bianca Ventura, Yasir Çatal, Angelika Wolman, Andrea Buccellato, Austin Clinton Cooper, Georg Northoff
Neuroimage August 15, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120745 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Highly proficient practitioners from different meditation traditions and a meditation-naïve control group |
| Interventions | Shoonya meditation Mantra meditation body-scanning Vipassana meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attentional focus Autocorrelation window Intrinsic neural timescales Meditation techniques |
| Citations | 22 |
| Key findings | Practices with wider attentional focus exhibit longer autocorrelation window durations compared to practices requiring narrower attentional focus. |
Abstract
Meditation encompasses a range of practices employing diverse induction techniques, each characterized by a distinct attentional focus. In Mantra meditation, for instance, practitioners direct their attention narrowly to a given sentence that is recursively repeated, while other forms of meditation such as Shoonya meditation are induced by a wider attentional focus. Here we aimed to identify the neural underpinnings and correlates associated with this spectrum of distinct attentional foci. To accomplish this, we used EEG data to estimate the brain's intrinsic neural timescales (INTs), that is, its temporal windows of activity, by calculating the Autocorrelation Window (ACW) of the EEG signal. The autocorrelation function measures the similarity of a timeseries with a time-lagged version of itself by correlating the signal with itself on different time lags, consequently providing an estimation of INTs length. Therefore, through using the ACW metric, our objective was to explore whether there is a correspondence between the length of the brain's temporal windows of activity and the width of the attentional scope during various meditation techniques. This was performed on three groups of highly proficient practitioners belonging to different meditation traditions, as well as a meditation-naïve control group. Our results indicated that practices with a wider attentional focus, like Shoonya meditation, exhibit longer ACW durations compared to practices requiring a narrower attentional focus, such as Mantra meditation or body-scanning Vipassana meditation. Together, we demonstrated that distinct meditation techniques with varying widths of attentional foci exhibit unique durations in their brain's INTs. This may suggest that the width of the attentional scope during meditation relates and corresponds to the width of the brain's temporal windows in its neural activity. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Our research uncovered the neural mechanisms that underpin the attentional foci in various meditation techniques. We revealed that distinct meditation induction techniques, featured by their range of attentional widths, are characterized by varying lengths of intrinsic neural timescales (INTs) within the brain, as measured by the Autocorrelation Window function. This finding may bridge the gap between the width of attentional windows (subjective) and the width of the temporal windows in the brain's neural activity (objective) during different meditation techniques, offering a new understanding of how cognitive and neural processes are related to each other. This work holds significant implications, especially in the context of the increasing use of meditation in mental health and well-being interventions. By elucidating the distinct neural foundations of different meditation techniques, our research aims to pave the way for developing more tailored and effective meditation-based treatments.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Connecting brain and mind through temporo-spatial dynamics: Towards a theory of common currency. Physics of Life Reviews March 1, 2025
- Bridging the gap of brain and experience - Converging Neurophenomenology with Spatiotemporal Neuroscience. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews June 1, 2025
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of focused attention meditation: A scoping systematic review Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- Active inference, computational phenomenology, and advanced meditation: Toward the formalization of the experience of meditation. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 1, 2026
- Attention and meditative development: A review and synthesis of long-term meditators and outlook for the study of advanced meditation. Neuroimage November 19, 2025
and 9 more in the library
Cites 59
- The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world Nature Reviews Neuroscience January 22, 2021
- Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Nature Communications July 18, 2016
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- Meditation and attention: A comparison of the effects of concentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention Mental Health, Religion & Culture May 1, 1999
- Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity – A review Frontiers in Psychology September 23, 2014
and 54 more in the library