Occipital gamma activation during Vipassana meditation.
B Rael Cahn, Arnaud Delorme, John Polich
Cognitive Processing December 16, 2009 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-009-0352-1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subject counterbalanced EEG experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Long-term Vipassana meditators |
| Intervention | Vipassana meditation |
| Duration | 21 min per condition; last 6 min of eyes-closed silent meditation analyzed |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Occipital lobe Humans Electroencephalography Brain mapping Spectrum analysis Analysis of variance Negotiating Self concept Principal component analysis Middle aged Female Young adult |
| Key findings | During silent meditation compared with a control rest state, frontal delta power decreased, frontal theta power increased, and parieto-occipital gamma power increased, with no other band effects. Occipital gamma power and the meditation-related gamma increase were greatest in meditators with a daily practice of 10 or more years, suggesting that long-term Vipassana meditation contributes to increased occipital gamma power related to meditative expertise and enhanced sensory awareness. |
Abstract
Long-term Vipassana meditators sat in meditation vs. a control rest (mind-wandering) state for 21 min in a counterbalanced design with spontaneous EEG recorded. Meditation state dynamics were measured with spectral decomposition of the last 6 min of the eyes-closed silent meditation compared to control state. Meditation was associated with a decrease in frontal delta (1-4 Hz) power, especially pronounced in those participants not reporting drowsiness during meditation. Relative increase in frontal theta (4-8 Hz) power was observed during meditation, as well as significantly increased parieto-occipital gamma (35-45 Hz) power, but no other state effects were found for the theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), or beta (12-25 Hz) bands. Alpha power was sensitive to condition order, and more experienced meditators exhibited no tendency toward enhanced alpha during meditation relative to the control task. All participants tended to exhibit decreased alpha in association with reported drowsiness. Cross-experimental session occipital gamma power was the greatest in meditators with a daily practice of 10+ years, and the meditation-related gamma power increase was similarly the strongest in such advanced practitioners. The findings suggest that long-term Vipassana meditation contributes to increased occipital gamma power related to long-term meditational expertise and enhanced sensory awareness.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 168
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Mindfulness‐based approaches: are they all the same? Journal of Clinical Psychology January 19, 2011
- Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Mindfulness-induced changes in gamma band activity – Implications for the default mode network, self-reference and attention Clinical Neurophysiology September 21, 2011
- Focused attention, open monitoring and loving kindness meditation: effects on attention, conflict monitoring, and creativity – A review Frontiers in Psychology September 23, 2014
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Cites 22
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse Psychotherapy Research March 1, 2003
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
- Physiological Effects of Transcendental Meditation Science March 27, 1970
and 17 more in the library