Personality Correlates of EEG Change during Meditation
Thomas K. Akers, Don M Tucker, Randy S. Roth, John S. Vidiloff
Psychological Reports April 1, 1977 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1977.40.2.439 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 15 |
| Population | Seminary students who regularly practiced Christian meditation |
| Intervention | Christian meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Higher Hypochondriasis scores on the MMPI were associated with increased alpha activity during meditation compared to mental arithmetic. |
Abstract
15 seminary students who regularly practiced a form of Christian meditation were given the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were recorded and analyzed for percent time alpha during performance of a series of mental arithmetic tasks and also during a period of meditation. Higher scores on the Hypochondriasis scale of the MMPI were associated with increase in alpha as the subject proceeded from the mental arithmetic tasks to the meditation period. This result is discussed in terms of previous research, the pre-meditation level of alpha, and the implications for the use of meditation as a therapeutic procedure.
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 3
- A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience August 7, 2020
- Electrocortical activity and related phenomena associated with meditation practice: a literature review. International Journal of Neuroscience November 1984
- Meditation and the EEG Psychological Medicine May 1, 1980