Cortical and autonomic responses during staged Taoist meditation: two distinct meditation strategies
Maria Volodina, Nikolai Smetanin, Mikhail Lebedev, Alexei Ossadtchi
bioRxiv Preprint Server November 8, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2021.11.08.467698 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced meditators and naive subjects |
| Intervention | Guided Taoist meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Experienced meditators segregated into two subgroups with different physiological dynamics—one showing relaxation signs and the other showing concentration patterns without autonomic responses—unexplained by prior experience or baseline measures. |
Abstract
Meditation is a consciousness state associated with specific physiological and neural correlates. Numerous investigations of these correlates reported controversial results which prevented a consistent depiction of the underlying neurophysiological processes. Here we investigated the dynamics of multiple neurophysiological indicators during a staged meditation session. We measured the physiological changes at rest and during the guided Taoist meditation in experienced meditators and naive subjects. We recorded EEG, respiration, galvanic skin response, and photoplethysmography. All subjects followed the same instructions split into 16 stages. In the experienced meditators group we identified two subgroups with different physiological markers dynamics. One subgroup showed several signs of general relaxation evident from the changes in heart rate variability, respiratory rate, and EEG rhythmic activity. The other subgroup exhibited mind concentration patterns primarily noticeable in the EEG recordings while no autonomic responses occurred. The duration and type of previous meditation experience or any baseline indicators we measured did not explain the segregation of the meditators into these two groups. These results suggest that two distinct meditation strategies could be used by experienced meditators, which partly explains the inconsistent results reported in the earlier studies evaluating meditation effects. Our findings are also relevant to the development of the high-end biofeedback systems.
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 43
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Short-term autonomic and cardiovascular effects of mindfulness body scan meditation Annals of Behavioral Medicine November 15, 2006
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
and 38 more in the library