P300 and Heart Rate Variability Recorded Simultaneously in Meditation
Shirley Telles, Deepeshwar Singh, Kv Naveen, Subramanya Pailoor, Nilkamal Singh, Shivangi Pathak
Clinical EEG and Neuroscience May 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1177/1550059418790717 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 47 |
| Population | Male subjects (mean age 21.6 ± 3.4 years) |
| Interventions | meditative focusing defocused meditation |
| Duration | 4 consecutive days |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditative focusing increased sympathetic arousal and improved attention, while defocused meditation decreased heart rate and also improved attention, with faster response times. |
Abstract
Sympathetic activation is required for attention. Separate studies have shown that meditation ( a) improves attention and ( b) reduces sympathetic activity. The present study assessed attention with the P300 and sympathetic activity with heart rate variability (HRV). Forty-seven male subjects (group mean age ± SD, 21.6 ± 3.4 years) were assessed in 4 mental states: ( a) random thinking, ( b) nonmeditative focusing, ( c) meditative focusing, and ( d) defocused meditation. These were recorded on 4 consecutive days. HRV, respiration, and P300 event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded before and after the sessions. Data were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance followed by post hoc analysis. HRV showed a significant increase in low-frequency (LF) power, decrease in high-frequency (HF) power and an increase in average heart rate based on the average R-R interval after meditative focusing, compared with before. In contrast, the average heart rate decreased after defocused meditation compared with before. There was a significant increase in the P300 peak amplitude after meditative focusing and defocused meditation, with a reduction in peak latency after defocused meditation. These results suggest that after meditation with focusing, there was sympathetic arousal whereas after defocused meditation, there was a decrease in the average heart rate while participants carried out the P300 auditory oddball task sooner.
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
Cited by 13
- Alterations in Functional Connectivity Measured by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and the Relationship With Heart Rate Variability in Subjects After Performing Orgasmic Meditation: An Exploratory Study Frontiers in Psychology November 11, 2021
- Impact of Meditation–Based Lifestyle Modification on HRV in Outpatients With Mild to Moderate Depression: An Exploratory Study Frontiers in Psychiatry June 9, 2022
- Effect of Brief Mindfulness Meditation Interventions on Heart Rate Variability in Adults: A Systematic Review. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback July 26, 2025
- Improving Prefrontal Oxygenation and Cardiac Autonomic Activity Following Meditation: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study. Cureus August 1, 2024
- Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Event-Related Potentials (P3) and Depressive Symptoms in Oncological Patients. Integrative Cancer Therapies 2024
and 8 more in the library
Cites 10
- Decentering the Self? Reduced Bias in Self- vs. Other-Related Processing in Long-Term Practitioners of Loving-Kindness Meditation Frontiers in Psychology November 21, 2016
- Long Latency Auditory Evoked Potentials during Meditation Clinical EEG and Neuroscience October 1, 2015
- Mindfulness (Vipassana) meditation: effects on P3b event-related potential and heart rate variability. International Journal of Psychophysiology November 1, 2013
- Autonomic system modification in Zen practitioners. Indian journal of medical sciences July 1, 2013
- Changes in autonomic variables following two meditative states described in yoga texts. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine September 4, 2012
and 5 more in the library