CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF EFFECTS OF TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION PRACTICE ON INTERHEMISPHERIC FRONTAL ASYMMETRY AND FRONTAL COHERENCE
Frederick Travis, Alarik Arenander
International Journal of Neuroscience 2006 DOI: 10.1080/00207450600575482 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Longitudinal Cross-sectional Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 27 |
| Population | Transcendental Meditation practitioners and controls |
| Intervention | Transcendental Meditation practice |
| Duration | One-year longitudinal study |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 111 |
| Key findings | Frontal coherence increased with TM practice over time, while lateral asymmetry did not change. |
Abstract
Two studies investigated frontal alpha lateral asymmetry and frontal interhemispheric coherence during eyes-closed rest, Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice, and computerized reaction-time tasks. In the first study, frontal coherence and lateralized asymmetry were higher in 13 TM subjects than in 12 controls. In the second study (N = 14), a one-year longitudinal study, lateral asymmetry did not change in any condition. In contrast, frontal coherence increased linearly during computer tasks and eyes-closed rest, and as a step-function during TM practice--rising to a high level after 2-months TM practice. Coherence was more sensitive than lateral asymmetry to effects of TM practice on brain functioning.