The Neurodynamic Core of Meditation: Dissociating Meditation from Rest and Task in a Reliability-based EEG study
Praerna Chowdhury, Ramajayam Govindaraj, Arun Sasidharan, Apar A Saoji, N Ravindra P, Georg Northoff, Bindu M Kutty
bioRxiv Preprint Server May 27, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.05.27.728082 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Multi-session within-subject design |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced meditators from the Brahmakumaris Rajayoga tradition |
| Intervention | meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | The study identified reliable, state-dependent EEG dynamics that distinguish meditative state from other states, addressing prior limitations in meditation research. |
Abstract
Background Electroencephalographic (EEG) studies attempting to characterise the neural signature of meditation typically rely on contrasts with passive rest or comparisons among practitioners based on experience. However, these approaches rarely include active control states and seldom establish the reliability and robustness of identified quantitative EEG features. Consequently, the validity of proposed neurophysiological markers of meditative state remains uncertain. The present study addressed these limitations by using a reliability-informed, multi-session within-subject design to characterise distinct state-dependent EEG dynamics in experienced meditators from the Brahmakumaris Rajayoga tradition.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 51
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
and 46 more in the library