Impact of regular meditation practice on EEG activity at rest and during evoked negative emotions.
Ljubomir Aftanas, Semen Golosheykin
International Journal of Neuroscience June 2005 DOI: 10.1080/00207450590897969 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 50 |
| Population | Age-matched control individuals and Sahaja Yoga meditators |
| Measures | EEG power in theta-1, theta-2, alpha-1, gamma bands |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Meditators showed higher theta and alpha power at rest and during mild arousal, lacked the hemisphere asymmetry seen in controls, and did not exhibit the gamma synchronization to aversive stimuli that controls showed, suggesting better emotional arousal moderation. |
Abstract
The main objective of the present investigation was to examine how long-term meditation practice is manifested in EEG activity under conditions of non-emotional arousal (eyes-closed and eyes-open periods, viewing emotionally neutral movie clip) and while experiencing experimentally induced negative emotions (viewing aversive movie clip). The 62-channel EEG was recorded in age-matched control individuals (n=25) and Sahaja Yoga meditators (SYM, n=25). Findings from the non-emotional continuum show that at the lowest level of arousal (eyes closed) SYM manifested larger power values in theta-1 (4-6 Hz), theta-2 (6-8 Hz) and alpha-1 (8-10 Hz) frequency bands. Although increasing arousal desynchronized activity in these bands in both groups, the theta-2 and alpha-1 power in the eyes-open period and alpha-1 power while viewing the neutral clip remained still higher in the SYM. During eyes-closed and eyes-open periods the controls were marked by larger right than left hemisphere power, indexing relatively more active left hemisphere parieto-temporal cortex whereas meditators manifested no hemisphere asymmetry. When contrasted with the neutral, the aversive movie clip yielded significant alpha desynchronization in both groups, reflecting arousing nature of emotional induction. In the control group along with alpha desynchronization affective movie clip synchronized gamma power over anterior cortical sites. This was not seen in the SYM. Overall, the presented report emphasizes that the revealed changes in the electrical brain activity associated with regular meditation practice are dynamical by nature and depend on arousal level. The EEG power findings also provide the first empirical proof of a theoretical assumption that meditators have better capabilities to moderate intensity of emotional arousal.
Comparable studies
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 |
Citations in the library
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- Mindfulness-induced changes in gamma band activity – Implications for the default mode network, self-reference and attention Clinical Neurophysiology September 21, 2011
- EEG activity in Carmelite nuns during a mystical experience Neuroscience Letters August 15, 2008
- A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Meditation for Work Stress, Anxiety and Depressed Mood in Full‐Time Workers Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2011
- Plasticity changes in the brain in hypnosis and meditation Contemporary Hypnosis October 30, 2009
- The consciousness state space (CSS)-a unifying model for consciousness and self. Frontiers in Psychology 2014
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Cites 7
- Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Psychosomatic Medicine July 1, 2003
- Brain sources of EEG gamma frequency during volitionally meditation-induced, altered states of consciousness, and experience of the self Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging November 1, 2001
- Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states. Biological Psychology November 2002
- Frontal midline theta rhythm is correlated with cardiac autonomic activities during the performance of an attention demanding meditation procedure. Brain research. Cognitive brain research April 1, 2001
- Catecholamine levels in practitioners of the transcendental meditation technique. Physiology & Behavior January 2001
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