Mindfulness meditation increases interictal epileptiform discharges in meditation-naïve surgical epilepsy patients.
Shweta Soni, Karine Brochu, Paolo Federico, Walter Hader, Julia W Y Kam, Fady Girgis
Epilepsia June 16, 2026 DOI: 10.1002/epi.70332 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 27 |
| Population | Meditation-naïve patients with drug-resistant epilepsy undergoing intracranial electroencephalography monitoring |
| Interventions | Focused attention meditation Open monitoring meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Epilepsy Interictal epileptiform dischargs Neural excitability Seizure risk |
| Key findings | Both focused attention and open monitoring meditation increased interictal epileptiform discharge density relative to story listening in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. |
Abstract
Meditation has widely recognized psychological and neuromodulatory benefits, yet its effects on epileptiform activity remain unclear. This study examined whether novice meditation modulates interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy using intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG). Twenty-seven meditation-naïve patients undergoing iEEG monitoring performed two meditation conditions, focused attention meditation (FAM) and open monitoring meditation (OMM), as well as two control conditions, story listening (STL) and classical music listening (CMM). IEDs were visually identified across the brain and manually labeled by an experienced neurologist. Linear mixed-effects models were applied to assess the effect of meditation on IED density (IEDs/min). Subjective meditative depth was evaluated using the Meditation Depth Questionnaire (MEDEQ), and associations between IED density and subjective experiences were examined. Both focused attention (p = .027) and open monitoring (p = .041) meditation increased IED density relative to the non-meditative STL control condition, whereas no differences were observed relative to the CMM control condition. Although both meditation conditions produced numerically comparable IED increases relative to STL control at the individual level, there was notable inter-individual variability depending on type of meditation. Subjects overall reported higher meditation depth scores during meditation than the STL control, and perceived depth increased with progressive meditative levels. Crucially, the relationship between IED density and perceived meditation depth changed across levels (p < .01), suggesting a dynamic interplay between neural excitability in the context of epilepsy and the subjective ease of meditative engagement. This exploratory study provides direct intracranial evidence that meditation modulates interictal epileptiform activity in meditation-naïve epilepsy patients. Increased IED density during meditation suggests that these internally directed cognitive states can transiently influence epileptic network dynamics. These preliminary findings indicate a functional coupling between meditative states and cortical excitability in epilepsy, offering crucial insights into the clinical relevance of meditation in epilepsy.
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 18
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
- Transcendental Meditation and general meditation are associated with enhanced complex partial epileptic-like signs: evidence for "cognitive" kindling? Perceptual and Motor Skills February 1, 1993
- Mindfulness Meditation and Network Neuroscience: Review, Synthesis, and Future Directions. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025
and 13 more in the library