Electrophysiological correlates of long-term Soto Zen meditation.
Henrique Adam Pasquini, Guaraci Ken Tanaka, Luis Fernando Hindi Basile, Bruna Velasques, Mirna Delposo Lozano, Pedro Ribeiro
BioMed Research International January 1, 2015 DOI: 10.1155/2015/598496 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLong-term Soto Zen Buddhist meditators showed no significant change in beta brainwave activity during an adapted meditation task, contrary to expectations. Instead, the frequency of weekly meditation practice correlated with increased induced theta power and a higher theta/beta ratio, suggesting that mindfulness meditation involves permitting distractions and deliberately reducing attention rather than actively focusing.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | 17 Soto Zen Buddhist meditators and 14 controls |
| Key finding | No significant change in beta frequency was found; instead, correlations between weekly meditation frequency and increased theta power and theta/beta ratio suggest mindfulness involves reduced attention and acceptance of distractions. |
Abstract
This study aimed to verify the electrophysiological correlates of the changes in long-term regular meditators. We use modern techniques of high-resolution electroencephalography applied to slow potentials, power spectra, and potencies related to the events. To obtain encephalographic records, we use an assembly of 128 channels in 31 subjects (17 Soto Zen Buddhist meditators). The motivation of this study was to determine whether the induced beta power would present an increase in meditators as well as a decrease in induced theta/beta ratio in absolute and relative values. However, opposite to what we expected, no significant change was found in the beta frequency. In contrast, the main findings of the study were correlations between the frequency of weekly meditation practice and the increased theta induced relative power, increase of induced power ratio (ratio theta/beta), and increase of the ratio of induced relative powers (theta/beta ratio) during our task that featured an "adapted meditation," suggesting that the meditative state of "mindfulness" is much more related to the permittivity of "distractions" by the meditators, with a deliberate reduction of attention.