Higher theta and alpha1 coherence when listening to Vedic recitation compared to coherence during Transcendental Meditation practice.
Frederick Travis, Niyazi Parim, Amrita Shrivastava
Consciousness and Cognition March 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.02.002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects comparison Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 37 |
| Population | Subjects who practice Transcendental Meditation |
| Interventions | listening to live Vedic recitation practicing Transcendental Meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Alpha Frontal EEG Coherence Tm Theta Transcendental meditation Vedic recitation |
| Key points | Listening to live Vedic recitation produces significantly higher theta2 and alpha1 EEG coherence and deeper subjective experiences than Transcendental Meditation practice. |
Abstract
This study compared subjective experiences and EEG patterns in 37 subjects when listening to live Vedic recitation and when practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM). Content analysis of experiences when listening to Vedic recitation yielded three higher-order code. Experiences during Vedic recitation were: (1) deeper than during TM practice; (2) experienced as an inner process; and (3) characterized by lively silence. EEG patterns support these higher-order codes. Theta2 and alpha1 frontal, parietal, and frontal-parietal coherence were significantly higher when listening to Vedic recitation, than during TM practice. Theta2 coherence is seen when attending to internal mental processes. Higher theta2 coherence supports subjects' descriptions that the Vedic recitations were "not external sounds but internal vibrations." Alpha1 coherence is reported during pure consciousness experiences during TM practice. Higher alpha1 coherence supports subjects' descriptions that they "experienced a depth of experience, rarely experienced even during deep TM practice." These data support the utility of listening to Vedic recitation to culture deep inner experiences.
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 5
- Immersion, Absorption, and Spiritual Experience: Some Preliminary Findings. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Ancient Indian perspectives and practices of mental well-being Frontiers in Psychology June 3, 2025
- Dhyana yoga, the path of meditative being: Psychotherapeutic insights from the east. Asian Journal of Psychiatry June 1, 2025
- The cloud of unknowing: Cognitive dedifferentiation in whole-body perceptual deprivation. Progress in Brain Research 2023
- A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience August 7, 2020
Cites 6
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and 1 more in the library