Traditional Buddhist meditations reduce mismatch negativity in experienced monk- practitioners.
Svyatoslav Medvedev, Julia Boytsova, Y A Bubeev, Alexander Kaplan, Elena Kokurina, A Olsen, A E Smoleevskiy, Nikolay Syrov, Lev Yakovlev, Yulia Zhironkina, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Tanzin Chhonden, Yeshi Dorje, Stanzin Lhakpa, Tenzin Lobsang, Kunga Lhundup, Ngawang Norbu, Lobsang Phuntsok, Lodoe Sangpo, Thupten Sherap, Tenzin Wangchuk
International Journal of Psychophysiology November 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.08.011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 115 |
| Population | Buddhist monks |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Auditory erps Auditory attention Buddhist meditations Mismatch negativity |
| Key findings | During Buddhist meditations, amplitudes of mismatch negativity, N1, P2, and P3a components of auditory ERPs decrease compared to relaxed wakefulness, indicating reduced attentional engagement with external stimuli. |
Abstract
Thousand-year-old Buddhist traditions have developed a wide range of methods for the subjective exploration of consciousness through meditation. Combining their subjective research with the possibilities of modern neuroscience can help us better understand the physiological mechanisms of consciousness. Therefore, we have been guided by specifically Buddhist explanations when studying the physiological mechanisms of altered states of consciousness during Buddhist meditations. In Buddhism, meditations are generally divided into two large categories: (1) one-pointed concentration and (2) analytical meditation. Maintaining both one-pointed concentration and analytical meditation on 'bodhicitta' ("the thought of awakening") and 'emptiness' is a necessary condition for transitioning into tantric practices. Tantric practices involve sophisticated visualizations of Buddhist deities, the 'energy structure' of the human body, and the visualization of the stage-by-stage process of dying accompanied with the dissolution of body elements. According to Buddhism, these meditations are characterized by the gradual withdrawal from "gross levels" of consciousness associated with the five senses. From a psychophysiological perspective, this withdrawal of sensory consciousness can be considered as the decrease of sensory stimuli recognition and attentional disengagement from the external world. We concentrated on how considered meditations affect sensory and cognitive processing of external stimuli. Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in the passive oddball paradigm were studied both during meditations and in a controlled state of relaxed wakefulness. It was shown with a group of 115 Buddhist monks that during meditation, mismatch negativity amplitudes, amplitudes of N1 and P2 components of ERPs to deviant stimuli, and the amplitudes of the P3a component to novel stimuli all decrease. These outcomes suggest that the considered Buddhist meditations, compared to the control state of relaxed wakefulness, are accompanied by a decrease in physiological processes responsible for maintaining attention on the outside world and recognizing changes in the stream of sensory stimuli.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Zen priests and disciples of Zen sects of Buddhism | 1966 | Observational study | n = 48 |
| “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation Regular Zen practitioners and matched control subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Healthy adults who had not previously practiced any form of meditation | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion 20 Zen meditation experts and 20 healthy matched non-meditators | 2016 | Observational cohort | n = 40 |
| EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure Experienced Zen meditation practitioners and matched controls | 2009 | Observational cohort | n = 46 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Patients with Disorders of Consciousness: Are They Nonconscious, Unconscious, or Subconscious? Expanding the Discussion. Brain Sciences May 17, 2023
- Electrophysiological correlates of zen meditation: An investigation using in-monastery EEG acquisition Biological Psychology October 1, 2025
- Investigating the effects of focused attention (mantra) meditation on mismatch negativity: Insights into sensory and cognitive processing using an intensity oddball paradigm. Neuroscience April 6, 2025
- SDA: a data-driven algorithm that detects functional states applied to the EEG of Guhyasamaja meditation Frontiers in Neuroinformatics January 29, 2024
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