Comparison of Spatio-Spectral Properties of Zen-Meditation and Resting EEG Based on Unsupervised Learning
Pei-Chen Lo, Nasir Hussain
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science 2021 DOI: 10.4236/jbbs.2021.112005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Zen meditation practitioners |
| Topics | Meditation Buddhism |
| Keywords | Electroencephalography Pattern recognition psychology Resting State FMRI Artificial intelligence Unsupervised learning Biosignal Cluster analysis Speech recognition Filter signal processing |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Zen meditation EEG exhibits globally high-frequency (>16 Hz) activity throughout the entire record, whereas resting EEG is dominated by global low-frequency (14.4 Hz) activity. |
Abstract
This paper reports distinct spatio-spectral properties of Zen-meditation EEG (electroencephalograph), compared with resting EEG, by implementing unsupervised machine learning scheme in clustering the brain mappings of centroid frequency (BMFc). Zen practitioners simultaneously concentrate on the third ventricle, hypothalamus and corpora quadrigemina touniversalize all brain neurons to construct a detached brain and gradually change the normal brain traits, leading to the process of brain-neuroplasticity. During such tri-aperture concentration, EEG exhibits prominent diffuse high-frequency oscillations. Unsupervised self-organizing map (SOM), clusters the dataset of quantitative EEG by matching the input feature vector Fc and the output cluster center through the SOM network weights. Input dataset contains brain mappings of 30 centroid frequencies extracted from CWT (continuous wavelet transform) coefficients. According to SOM clustering results, resting EEG is dominated by global low-frequency (14.4 Hz); whereas Zen-meditation EEG exhibits globally high-frequency (>16 Hz) activities throughout the entire record. Beta waves with a wide range of frequencies are often associated with active concentration. Nonetheless, clinic report discloses that benzodiazepines, medication treatment for anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks to relieve mind/body stress, often induce beta buzz. We may hypothesize that Zen-meditation practitioners attain the unique state of mindfulness concentration under optimal body-mind relaxation.
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
Cites 8
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
- EEG Derived Neuronal Dynamics during Meditation: Progress and Challenges Advances in Preventive Medicine 2015
- EEG Alpha Blocking Correlated with Perception of Inner Light During Zen Meditation The American Journal of Chinese Medicine 2003
- Cross-Bifrequency Analysis of Cardiorespiratory Interactions at Rest and Zen Meditation International Conference on Systems and Informatics November 1, 2019
- Cardiorespiratory and autonomic-nervous-system functioning of drug abusers treated by Zen meditation. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine September 28, 2018
and 3 more in the library