Meditation-Induced Self-Boundary Flexibility and Prosociality: A MEG and Behavioral Measures Study.
Yoav Schweitzer, Fynn-Mathis Trautwein, Yair Dor-Ziderman, Ohad Nave, Jonathan David, Stephen Fulder, Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
Brain Sciences November 26, 2024 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14121181 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 97 |
| Population | Long-term meditators and controls |
| Intervention | meditation |
| Duration | Over a year |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Prosociality Self-boundary sb flexibility |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | Long-term meditators have enhanced emotion recognition and reduced outgroup bias, and the neural index of self-boundary flexibility negatively correlates with recognizing negative emotions. |
Abstract
In the last decade, empirical studies on the beneficial effects of meditation on prosocial capacities have accumulated, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Buddhist sources state that liberating oneself from a fixed view of the self by gaining access to its transitory and malleable nature leads to increased compassion and other prosocial traits. These, however, have not yet been empirically tested. The current study aims at filling this gap by first examining whether 44 long term meditators differ from 53 controls in prosocial capacities on different levels of the socio-cognitive hierarchy, and second by examining whether these are associated with meditation-induced 'selfless' states, operationalized here as the sense of boundary (SB) flexibility. We capitalize on our previous work on the neurophenomenology of mindfulness-induced SB dissolution, which yielded a neural index of SB-flexibility, solely for the meditators, and examine its correlations with a battery of validated behavioral prosociality tasks. Our findings reveal enhanced low-level prosocial processes in meditators, including enhanced emotion recognition and reduced outgroup bias. We show the stability of SB flexibility over a year, demonstrating consistent high beta deactivation. The neural index of SB flexibility negatively correlates with recognizing negative emotions, suggesting a link to reduced social threat perception. These results connect the neural correlates of SB flexibility to prosociality, supported by stable high beta deactivations. We expect the results to raise awareness regarding the prosocial potential of flexing one's self-boundaries through meditation.
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 6
- Active inference, computational phenomenology, and advanced meditation: Toward the formalization of the experience of meditation. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews March 1, 2026
- Deconstructive meditations and psychotherapy: Transforming the perception of the self. World Journal of Psychiatry June 19, 2025
- La neurofenomenología en la segunda década del siglo XXI: una revisión sistemática Revista Académica Internacional de Educación Física April 6, 2026
- Effectiveness of Deconstructive Meditative Practices in Improving Mental Health and Well-being: A Systematic Review Mindfulness March 27, 2026
- Action without agent, but with awareness? meditation and the modulation of agency induced sensory suppression. Consciousness and Cognition 2026
and 1 more in the library
Cites 40
- Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2007
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Implicit Age and Race Bias Social Psychological and Personality Science November 24, 2014
- What about the “Self” is Processed in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 35 more in the library