F-VEP AND ALPHA-SUPPRESSED EEG-PHYSIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF INNER-LIGHT PERCEPTION DURING ZEN MEDITATION
Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis and Communications February 25, 2006 DOI: 10.4015/s1016237206000026 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key findings | Proposes that Zen meditation is associated with a stable visual perceptive system, as indicated by little variation in F-VEP peak amplitude, contrasting with control subjects under eye-closed relaxation. |
Abstract
This paper firstly reports the visual response to the inner light (a form of qi) and the outside stimulus during Zen meditation. It has been reported literally that inner light perception is the common experience for prayers or Zen-meditation practitioners. In this paper, we propose a method to quantify the EEG (electroencephalograph) and F-VEP (flash visual evoked potential) that characterize this experience. Based on wavelet analysis, we derived a set of parameters that effectively signify the alpha-suppressed EEG pattern. Furthermore, this paper presents our new results of analyzing the F-VEP data, mainly the peak amplitude. The observation of little variation in amplitude during Zen meditation reflects a more stable visual perceptive system during Zen meditation that is contrary to the visual response of the control subjects under eye-closed relaxation.