Inter-brain co-activations during mindfulness meditation. Implications for devotional and clinical settings.
Alessio Matiz, Cristiano Crescentini, Massimo Bergamasco, Riccardo Budai, Franco Fabbro
Consciousness and Cognition September 22, 2021 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103210 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects experimental design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 32 |
| Population | 16 couples of expert meditators |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-oriented meditation Instructed mind-wandering |
| Duration | 7-minute recording sessions per condition |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Gamma activity in limbic areas was higher during mindfulness meditation performed together in the same room compared to when performed alone in different rooms. |
Abstract
Mindfulness meditation usually takes place as personal, introspective activity. It is not known if this practice activates the brain differently when done alone or with someone else. Sixteen couples of expert meditators performed mindfulness-oriented meditation (MOM) and instructed mind-wandering (IMW) tasks in two conditions: once sitting in the same room (SR) and once in two different rooms (DR). Spontaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) data was collected during 7-minute recording sessions in the four experimental settings (MOM/SR, MOM/DR, IMW/SR, IMW/DR). Power in band was computed in separate clusters of independent components of the EEG signals. In addition to significant task effects, found in frontolimbic (MOM > IMW in gamma) and frontoparietal locations (MOM < IMW in theta), significant condition effects were found in frontal (SR > DR in delta) and in temporo-occipital regions (SR > DR in theta and alpha). Moreover, a significant interaction between task and condition revealed higher gamma activity in limbic areas during MOM/SR vs. MOM/DR settings. This effect was not attributable to gender, age nor the meditation expertise of participants. We thus show that the brains of two people work differently when they are doing something together or alone; some of these differences are specific to mindfulness meditation. Implications for devotional and clinical settings are discussed.
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 7
- 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
- Mindfulness Through Storytelling for Mental Health of Primary School Children: Impact on Acceptability and Its Associations with Personality. Psychology Research and Behavior Management 2024
- Temperament and Character Moderate the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Psychological and Professional Well-Being of School Teachers Mindfulness April 23, 2025
- Mind-wandering dynamics during individual vs. group mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Psychology August 28, 2026
and 2 more in the library
Cites 36
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine May 1, 2009
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
and 31 more in the library