Meditation-Specific Neural Predictors of State Mindfulness During Eyes Open Meditation

Focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) meditation practices produce distinct psychological effects, and their neural correlates differ. In a within-subject experiment with EEG recording, participants engaged in FA, OM, and an active control condition. Both FA and OM increased self-reported state mindfulness and decreased theta power compared to control; OM also reduced alpha power relative to FA. Crucially, higher theta power was associated with greater state mindfulness in both FA and OM, but more strongly in OM, while reduced alpha power was linked to higher mindfulness only during OM. These results indicate that theta and alpha brain rhythms have context-dependent roles in shaping subjective meditation experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) are distinct mindfulness practices that produce unique psychological effects. Prior research has frequently investigated the neural correlates of FA and OM states utilizing electroencephalographic (EEG) methods, focusing on changes in spectral power within theta and alpha bands. Yet the functional significance of these neural changes has remained unclear. Here we utilized a fully within-subject state induction protocol to more directly test whether EEG spectral power during FA and OM is differentially associated with subjective ratings of state mindfulness. Method While continuous EEG was recorded, participants engaged in eyes-open audio-guided FA and OM practices, as well as an active control condition (C), and then self-reported their state mindfulness afterwards. Linear mixed-effects models were used to rigorously assess how condition-level variation in spectral power predicted state mindfulness scores across the three inductions. Results Validating the approach, participants reported higher state mindfulness and decreased theta power during both FA and OM relative to C; additionally, reduced alpha power was found in OM relative to FA. Most importantly, increased theta power was associated with higher state mindfulness in FA and even more strongly in OM, whereas reduced alpha power was linked to higher state mindfulness selectively in OM. Conclusions These findings add to the growing literature suggesting that FA and OM represent distinct mindfulness states. We further establish that the functional significance of theta and alpha power is context-dependent, clearly linking these neural measures to the subjective quality of specific meditation states and practices.