Near-critical brain dynamics track effortlessness during meditation

Study at a glance

Characteristics	Observational cohort
Population	Meditators
Topics	Meditation
Key findings	Argues that near-critical brain dynamics track the subjective experience of effortlessness during meditation, suggesting that such dynamics may serve as a neural correlate of meditative depth.

Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design	Participants
Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students	2006	Observational cohort
Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia	1992	Observational cohort	n = 22
Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls	2005	Observational cohort	n = 20
Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls	2011	Observational cohort
Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls	2004	Observational cohort

and 31 more in the library