The EEG spectral fingerprints of meditation and mind wandering differ between experienced meditators and novices
Julio Rodriguez-Larios, Eduardo A. Bracho Montes de Oca, Kaat Alaerts
bioRxiv Preprint Server July 6, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.06.451305 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 58 |
| Population | Adults with more than 3 years of meditation experience and adults without any meditation experience |
| Intervention | Breath focus meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditators showed decreased alpha frequency and amplitude and steeper 1/f slope during meditation relative to rest, while controls showed increased alpha amplitude during mind wandering relative to breath focus. |
Abstract
Previous literature suggests that meditation training is associated with changes in participants’ experience during meditation practice. In this study, we assess whether putative differences in the experience of meditation between meditators and non-meditators are reflected in EEG spectral modulations. For this purpose, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) during rest and two breath focus meditations (with and without experience sampling) in a group of 29 adult participants with more than 3 years of meditation experience and a control group of 29 participants without any meditation experience. Experience sampling in one of the meditation conditions allowed us to disentangle periods of breath focus from mind wandering (i.e. moments of distraction driven by task-irrelevant thoughts) during meditation practice. Overall, meditators reported a greater level of focus and reduced mind wandering during meditation practice than controls. In line with these reports, EEG spectral modulations associated to meditation and mind wandering also differed significantly between meditators and controls. While meditators (but not controls) showed a significant decrease in individual alpha frequency and amplitude and a steeper 1/f slope during meditation relative to rest, controls (but not meditators) showed a relative increase in individual alpha amplitude during mind wandering relative to breath focus periods. Together, our results show that the experience of meditation changes with training and that this is reflected in oscillatory and non-oscillatory components of brain activity.
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
Cites 29
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion February 6, 2012
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
and 24 more in the library