Non-dual awareness and sensory processing in meditators: Insights from startle reflex modulation
Veena Kumari, Umisha Tailor, A. Saifullah, Rakesh Pandey, Elena Antonova
Consciousness and Cognition July 8, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103722 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 68 |
| Population | Regular meditators and meditation-naïve individuals |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Habituation Prepulse inhibition Stimulus psychology Moro reflex Audiology Startle response Sensory gating Sensory system Perception Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | No significant differences in habituation or prepulse inhibition were found between meditators and non-meditators, but meditators who could sustain non-dual awareness had significantly greater prepulse inhibition than those who could not. |
Abstract
Startle modulation paradigms, namely habituation and prepulse inhibition (PPI), can offer insight into the brain's early information processing mechanisms that might be impacted by regular meditation practice. Habituation refers to decreasing response to a repeatedly-presented startle stimulus, reflecting its redundancy. PPI refers to response reduction when a startling stimulus "pulse" is preceded by a weaker sensory stimulus "prepulse" and provides an operational measure of sensorimotor gating. Here, we examined habituation and PPI of the acoustic startle response in regular meditators (n = 32), relative to meditation-naïve individuals (n = 36). Overall, there was no significant difference between meditators and non-meditators in habituation or PPI, but there was significantly greater PPI in meditators who self-reported being able to enter and sustain non-dual awareness during their meditation practice (n = 18) relative to those who could not (n = 14). Together, these findings suggest that subjective differences in meditation experience may be associated with differential sensory processing characteristics in meditators.