Dimensionality of multichannel EEG (Omega Complexity) during meditation in five traditions
Pascal L Faber, D. Lehmann, Patricia Milz, Shisei Tei, Kieko Kochi
European Psychiatry March 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1016/s0924-9338(11)72649-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 71 |
| Population | Experienced meditators from five meditation traditions (13 Tibetan Buddhists, 15 Qigong, 14 Shaja Yoga, 14 Ananda Marga Yoga, 15 Zen) |
| Intervention | meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Omega Complexity was higher during meditation than during resting in all five traditions, with significant increases in Tibetan Buddhists, Ananda Marga Yoga, and Zen. |
Abstract
IntroductionThe measure of complex dimensionality assesses the number of independent processes that generate an observed time series.ObjectivesTo investigate whether meditation exercises are associated with fewer or more independently active brain processes, and whether different meditation traditions show different results.AimsDoes brain electric complex dimensionality differ between the state of meditation and of task free resting in different meditation traditions?MethodsMultichannel EEG recordings (19 to 25 channels) from experienced meditators of five meditation traditions (13 Tibetan Buddhists, 15 Qigong, 14 Shaja Yoga, 14 Ananda Marga Yoga, and 15 Zen) were analyzed (bandpass 1.5–30 Hz) using ‘Omega Complexity’ that obtains a single value for a set of simultaneously recorded EEG time series from a given person (J. Wackermann, Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) 1996;56:197–208). Omega Complexity during meditation was compared to the mean of Omega Complexity during pre- and post-meditation resting.ResultsDuring meditation relative to resting (paired t tests), Omega Complexity was higher in all five traditions, significant for Tibetan Buddhists (p = 0.01), Ananda Marga Yoga (p = 0.007) and Zen (p = 0.0003).ConclusionThe subjectively experienced agreeable feelings during meditation apparently occur, across meditation traditions, during a brain functional state that is characterized by an increase of independent brain processes compared to task free resting.
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 |