Cessations of consciousness in meditation: Advancing a scientific understanding of nirodha samāpatti.
Ruben Laukkonen, Matthew D. Sacchet, Henk Barendregt, Kathryn J Devaney, Avijit Chowdhury, Heleen A. Slagter
Progress in Brain Research 2023 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.12.007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review and theoretical framework Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Meditation practitioners |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Active inference Awareness Cessation Consciousness Fruition Jhāna Nirodha samāpatti Predictive processing |
| Citations | 56 |
| Key findings | Proposes that meditation-induced cessations (nirodha and nirodha samāpatti) can be consistently induced, last up to seven days, and are distinct from sleep, with potential to reveal insights about the mind and brain when integrated into current cognitive-neurocomputational and active inference frameworks. |
Abstract
Absence of consciousness can occur due to a concussion, anesthetization, intoxication, epileptic seizure, or other fainting/syncope episode caused by lack of blood flow to the brain. However, some meditation practitioners also report that it is possible to undergo a total absence of consciousness during meditation, lasting up to 7 days, and that these "cessations" can be consistently induced. One form of extended cessation (i.e., nirodha samāpatti) is thought to be different from sleep because practitioners are said to be completely impervious to external stimulation. That is, they cannot be 'woken up' from the cessation state as one might be from a dream. Cessations are also associated with the absence of any time experience or tiredness, and are said to involve a stiff rather than a relaxed body. Emergence from meditation-induced cessations is said to have profound effects on subsequent cognition and experience (e.g., resulting in a sudden sense of clarity, openness, and possibly insights). In this paper, we briefly outline the historical context for cessation events, present preliminary data from two labs, set a research agenda for their study, and provide an initial framework for understanding what meditation induced cessation may reveal about the mind and brain. We conclude by integrating these so-called nirodha and nirodha samāpatti experiences-as they are known in classical Buddhism-into current cognitive-neurocomputational and active inference frameworks of meditation.
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 47
- Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation "cessation" experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study. Neuropsychologia September 28, 2023
- On the varieties of conscious experiences: Altered Beliefs Under Psychedelics (ALBUS). Neuroscience of Consciousness 2025
- Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states. Cerebral Cortex January 14, 2024
- Volitional mental absorption in meditation: Toward a scientific understanding of advanced concentrative absorption meditation and the case of jhana. Heliyon May 14, 2024
- Within-subject reliability of brain networks during advanced meditation: An intensively sampled 7 Tesla MRI case study. Human Brain Mapping May 1, 2024
and 42 more in the library
Cites 38
- An information integration theory of consciousness BMC Neuroscience November 2, 2004
- Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biological Bulletin December 1, 2008
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- No-Report Paradigms: Extracting the True Neural Correlates of Consciousness Trends in Cognitive Sciences November 13, 2015
and 33 more in the library