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 2015 DOI: 10.1155/2015/598496 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | 17 Soto Zen Buddhist meditators and 14 controls |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key findings | 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.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Zen priests and disciples of Zen sects of Buddhism | 1966 | Observational study | n = 48 |
| “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation Regular Zen practitioners and matched control subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Healthy adults who had not previously practiced any form of meditation | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion 20 Zen meditation experts and 20 healthy matched non-meditators | 2016 | Observational cohort | n = 40 |
| EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure Experienced Zen meditation practitioners and matched controls | 2009 | Observational cohort | n = 46 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
- Beyond mindfulness: Arousal-driven modulation of attentional control during arousal-based practices. Current Research in Neurobiology 2022
- Mind and body connection in expert meditators: a computational study based on central and peripheral nervous system BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies March 7, 2024
- Electroencephalographic dynamics of rhythmic breath-based meditation bioRxiv Preprint Server March 9, 2022
and 10 more in the library
Cites 13
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences December 1, 1966
- Lower trait frontal theta activity in mindfulness meditators Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria August 29, 2015
- Why is it so hard to pay attention, or is it? Mindfulness, the factors of awakening and reward-based learning. Mindfulness March 1, 2013
- Comparison of coherence, amplitude, and eLORETA patterns during Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi practice. International Journal of Psychophysiology September 1, 2011
and 8 more in the library