Shifting Baselines: Longitudinal Reductions in EEG Beta Band Power Characterize Resting Brain Activity with Intensive Meditation.
Alea C. Skwara, Brandon G King, Anthony P Zanesco, Clifford D Saron
Mindfulness 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-022-01974-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial with waitlist control and replication Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced meditation practitioners |
| Intervention | Focused attention meditation |
| Duration | 3-month residential retreat |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Beta Domain generalization EEG Resting state State versus trait |
| Key findings | Meditation training reduces beta EEG power during eyes-closed rest, mirroring reductions seen during formal practice. |
Abstract
A core assumption of meditation training is that cognitive capacities developed during formal practice will transfer to other contexts or activities as expertise develops over time. This implies that meditation training might influence domain-general neurocognitive systems, the spontaneous activity of which should be reflected in the dynamics of the resting brain. Previous research has demonstrated that 3 months of meditation training led to reductions in EEG beta band power during mindfulness of breathing practice. The current study extends these findings to ask whether concomitant shifts in power are observed during 2 min of eyes closed rest, when participants are not explicitly engaged in formal meditation. Experienced meditation practitioners were randomly assigned to practice 3 months of focused attention meditation in a residential retreat, or to serve as waitlist controls. The waitlist controls later completed their own 3-month retreat. Permutation-based cluster analysis of 88-channel resting EEG data was used to test for spectral changes in spontaneous brain activity over the course of the retreats. Longitudinal reductions in EEG power in the beta frequency range were identified and replicated across the two independent training periods. Less robust reductions were also observed in the high alpha frequency range, and in individual peak alpha frequency. These changes closely mirror those previously observed during formal mindfulness of breathing meditation practice. These findings suggest that the neurocognitive effects of meditation training can extend beyond the bounds of formal practice, influencing the spontaneous activity of the resting brain. Rather than serving as an invariant baseline, resting states might carry meaningful training-related effects, blurring the line between state and trait change. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-022-01974-9.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Suspending the Embodied Self in Meditation Attenuates Beta Oscillations in the Posterior Medial Cortex. Journal of Neuroscience June 26, 2024
- EEG changes induced by meditative practices: State and trait effects in healthy subjects and in patients with epilepsy. Revue Neurologique April 1, 2024
- Meditation-Induced Self-Boundary Flexibility and Prosociality: A MEG and Behavioral Measures Study. Brain Sciences November 26, 2024
- Suspending the embodied self in meditation attenuates beta oscillations in posterior medial cortex February 13, 2023
- Stress Recovery Through Mindful Breathing: Convergent Neural Signatures in Around-Ear and Scalp EEG bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) April 24, 2026
and 4 more in the library
Cites 40
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
and 35 more in the library