Assisting focused attention meditation through EEG-based alpha-theta cross-frequency neurofeedback

A single session of EEG-neurofeedback training can increase the occurrence of non-harmonic alpha-theta brainwave patterns during focused attention meditation, an effect that persists after training ends. Thirty participants received 25 minutes each of experimental training (auditory feedback when non-harmonic alpha-theta patterns were detected) and sham training (unrelated feedback). The increase in these brainwave patterns occurred across the whole scalp, not just at the training site, and was linked to improvements in depressive mood. People with higher depressive mood at the start showed stronger training effects. The findings suggest neurofeedback could help train brainwave patterns relevant to meditation, especially for those with depressive symptoms.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Neurofeedback training involves real-time monitoring and self-regulation of neural activity. Neurofeedback training paradigms have been widely employed in the context of meditation. Interestingly, prior research revealed focused attention meditation to be associated with desynchronized, non-harmonic, cross-frequency relationships between alpha and theta rhythms, suggesting cross-frequency decoupling. However, the potential of training these brainwave patterns to assist meditative practices remains unexplored. Methods We assessed the trainability of non-harmonic alpha-theta cross-frequency relationships during focused attention meditation through EEG-neurofeedback training. Thirty individuals underwent 25 minutes of both experimental and sham training. During experimental training, participants received auditory feedback upon detection of non-harmonic alpha-theta brainwaves, whereas during sham training, feedback was unrelated to the measured brainwaves. Neural changes were assessed locally at training site Pz and globally across all scalp electrodes. Results Mixed model analyses showed a global, but not local, interaction effect between trainings over time, indicating that the incidence of non-harmonic alpha-theta relationships across the scalp increased during experimental training compared to sham training ( p < 0.001). This effect persisted in the post-training resting-state recording ( p = 0.004). Notably, these training-induced increases were associated with improvements in depressive mood state ( p < 0.001). Furthermore, participants with a higher depressive mood state at baseline showed stronger training effects ( p < 0.001). Conclusions Neurofeedback training can be used to upregulate non-harmonic alpha-theta cross-frequency relationships during focused attention meditation with durable post-training effects, particularly for those experiencing depressive mood symptoms. These findings lay the groundwork for investigating the effectiveness of multiple-session neurofeedback-assisted mindfulness training.