Quantitative EEG Study on Zen Meditation (Zazen)
Tetsuhito Murata, Yoshifumi Koshino, Masao Omori, Ichiro Murata, Masashi Nishio, Kazumasa Sakamoto, Tan Horie, Kiminori Isaki
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences December 1, 1994 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1994.tb03090.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | 20 monks of the Soto sect (10 priests, 10 disciples) and 10 control subjects with no Zen training experience |
| Intervention | Zen meditation (Zazen) |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Citations | 38 |
| Key findings | Theta waves appeared only in monks during meditation, with frequency increasing proportionally to length of Zen training experience. |
Abstract
Abstract: Quantitative EEG was continuously recorded prior to and during Zen meditation (Zazen) in 20 monks of the Soto sect (Group P: 10 priests; Group D: 10 disciples) and 10 control subjects with no experience in Zen training (Group C). As shown by an EEG topography during meditation, slow alpha appeared in the majority of subjects regardless of their experience in Zen training, while theta appeared only in Groups P and D predominantly in the frontal region, with its frequency increasing in proportion to an increasing length of experience in Zen training. In the quantitative analysis, in the monks with experience in Zen training, it was suggested that theta 2–3 (6.0–8.0 Hz) waves increased while the degree of increase in alpha 2 (9.0–10.0 Hz) wave was attenuated during the temporal course of meditation. The present EEG changes occurring during meditation may reflect intrinsic changes induced by Zazen, namely a mental state in which despite the attainment of relaxation the quality of consciousness is heightened.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Zen priests and disciples of Zen sects of Buddhism | 1966 | Observational study | n = 48 |
| “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation Regular Zen practitioners and matched control subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Healthy adults who had not previously practiced any form of meditation | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion 20 Zen meditation experts and 20 healthy matched non-meditators | 2016 | Observational cohort | n = 40 |
| EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure Experienced Zen meditation practitioners and matched controls | 2009 | Observational cohort | n = 46 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 20
- A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations Psychological Medicine November 27, 2009
- The psychological and neurophysiological concomitants of mindfulness forms of meditation Acta Neuropsychiatrica April 1, 2007
- Common spatial pattern for classification of loving kindness meditation EEG for single and multiple sessions Brain Informatics September 9, 2023
- P02-335 - A Systematic Review of Neurobiological and Clinical Features of Mindfulness Meditations European Psychiatry 2010
- Electrophysiological correlates of zen meditation: An investigation using in-monastery EEG acquisition Biological Psychology October 1, 2025
and 15 more in the library