Mindfulness (Vipassana) meditation: effects on P3b event-related potential and heart rate variability.
Luis Carlos Delgado-Pastor, Pandelis Perakakis, Pailoor Subramanya, Shirley Telles, Jaime Vila
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology November 1, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2013.07.006 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractExperienced Vipassana meditators showed greater P3b brain-wave amplitudes to target tones after a 30-minute meditation session compared with before meditation or after a no-meditation rest session, indicating increased attentional engagement. They also exhibited a larger increase in the LF/HF heart rate variability ratio during meditation, suggesting enhanced autonomic regulation. These findings partially support the idea that mindfulness, rooted in Vipassana, improves awareness of present experience and emotional self-regulation.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Within-subjects experimental design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Male experienced Vipassana meditators |
| Intervention | Vipassana meditation |
| Duration | 30-minute meditation or no-meditation session |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Emotional regulation Event-related potential Heart rate variability |
| Key finding | Experienced Vipassana meditators showed greater P3b amplitudes to target tones after meditation and increased LF/HF ratio during meditation, supporting claims about mindfulness enhancing attention and autonomic regulation. |
Abstract
The concept of mindfulness is based on Vipassana, a Buddhist meditation technique. The present study examines the physiological indices of attention and autonomic regulation in experienced Vipassana meditators to test the claim that mindfulness is an effective therapeutic tool due to its effects on increasing awareness of present experience and emotional self-regulation. Ten male experienced Vipassana meditators underwent two assessment sessions, one where they practiced Vipassana meditation and another where they rested with no meditation (random thinking). Each meditation/no-meditation session lasted 30 min and was preceded and followed by an auditory oddball task with two tones (standard and target). Event-related potentials to the tones were recorded at the Fz, Cz, and Pz locations. Heart rate variability, derived from an EKG, was recorded continuously during the meditation/no-meditation sessions and during a 5-minute baseline before the task. The Vipassana experts showed greater P3b amplitudes to the target tone after meditation than they did both before meditation and after the no-meditation session. They also showed a larger LF/HF ratio increase during specific Vipassana meditation. These results suggest that expert Vipassana meditators showed increased attentional engagement after meditation and increased autonomic regulation during meditation supporting, at least partially, the two claims concerning the clinical effectiveness of mindfulness.