The EEG spectral properties of meditation and mind wandering differ between experienced meditators and novices
Julio Rodriguez-Larios, Eduardo A. Bracho Montes de Oca, Kaat Alaerts
Neuroimage October 1, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118669 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 58 |
| Population | Adult participants with more than 3 years of meditation experience and adults without any meditation experience |
| Intervention | breath focus meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditators reported greater focus and less mind wandering than controls, and EEG spectral modulations during meditation and mind wandering differed significantly between the groups. |
Abstract
Previous literature suggests that individuals with meditation training become less distracted during meditation practice. In this study, we assess whether putative differences in the subjective experience of meditation between meditators and non-meditators are reflected in EEG spectral modulations. For this purpose, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) during rest and two breath focus meditations (with and without experience sampling) in a group of 29 adult participants with more than 3 years of meditation experience and a control group of 29 participants without any meditation experience. Experience sampling in one of the meditation conditions allowed us to disentangle periods of breath focus from mind wandering (i.e. moments of distraction driven by task-irrelevant thoughts) during meditation practice. Overall, meditators reported a greater level of focus and reduced mind wandering during meditation practice than controls. In line with these reports, EEG spectral modulations associated with meditation and mind wandering also differed significantly between meditators and controls. While meditators (but not controls) showed a significant decrease in individual alpha frequency / amplitude and a steeper 1/f slope during meditation relative to rest, controls (but not meditators) showed a relative increase in individual alpha amplitude during mind wandering relative to breath focus periods. Together, our results show that the subjective experience of meditation and mind wandering differs between meditators and novices and that this is reflected in oscillatory and non-oscillatory properties of EEG.
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 53
- Suspending the Embodied Self in Meditation Attenuates Beta Oscillations in the Posterior Medial Cortex. Journal of Neuroscience June 26, 2024
- Decoding Depth of Meditation: Electroencephalography Insights From Expert Vipassana Practitioners Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science October 17, 2024
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of focused attention meditation: A scoping systematic review Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- EEG changes induced by meditative practices: State and trait effects in healthy subjects and in patients with epilepsy. Revue Neurologique April 1, 2024
- Uncovering a stability signature of brain dynamics associated with meditation experience using massive time-series feature extraction. Neural Networks March 1, 2024
and 48 more in the library
Cites 20
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion February 6, 2012
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- The spectral exponent of the resting EEG indexes the presence of consciousness during unresponsiveness induced by propofol, xenon, and ketamine Neuroimage January 11, 2019
and 15 more in the library