Lower trait frontal theta activity in mindfulness meditators
Guaraci Ken Tanaka, Caroline Peressutti, Silmar Teixeira, Mauricio Cagy, Roberto Piedade, Antonio Egidio Nardi, Pedro Ribeiro, Bruna Velasques
Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria August 29, 2015 DOI: 10.1590/0004-282x20140133 (opens in new tab) via DOAJ
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractMindfulness meditation acutely increases frontal theta brain activity during practice, but long-term practitioners show lower trait frontal theta activity compared to short-term practitioners. This lower baseline activity may reflect expert meditators' ability to limit unnecessary information processing and enhance awareness of present experience. The acute theta increases during meditation appear related to concentration rather than mindfulness specifically. Twenty participants were studied, including ten experienced Buddhist meditators.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Long- and short-term mindfulness practitioners including experienced Buddhist meditators |
| Intervention | mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Meditação EEG Teta frontal Memória de trabalho |
| Key finding | Long-term mindfulness practitioners showed lower trait frontal theta activity than short-term practitioners, while both groups exhibited acute increases in theta during meditation. |
Abstract
Acute and long-term effects of mindfulness meditation on theta-band activity are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate frontal theta differences between long- and short-term mindfulness practitioners before, during, and after mindfulness meditation. Twenty participants were recruited, of which 10 were experienced Buddhist meditators. Despite an acute increase in the theta activity during meditation in both the groups, the meditators showed lower trait frontal theta activity. Therefore, we suggested that this finding is a neural correlate of the expert practitioners’ ability to limit the processing of unnecessary information (e.g., discursive thought) and increase the awareness of the essential content of the present experience. In conclusion, acute changes in the theta band throughout meditation did not appear to be a specific correlate of mindfulness but were rather related to the concentration properties of the meditation. Notwithstanding, lower frontal theta activity appeared to be a trait of mindfulness practices.