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.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Zen priests and disciples of Zen sects of Buddhism | 1966 | Observational study | n = 48 |
| “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation Regular Zen practitioners and matched control subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Healthy adults who had not previously practiced any form of meditation | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion 20 Zen meditation experts and 20 healthy matched non-meditators | 2016 | Observational cohort | n = 40 |
| EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure Experienced Zen meditation practitioners and matched controls | 2009 | Observational cohort | n = 46 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- EEG Derived Neuronal Dynamics during Meditation: Progress and Challenges Advances in Preventive Medicine 2015
- Electrophysiological correlates of zen meditation: An investigation using in-monastery EEG acquisition Biological Psychology October 1, 2025
- Exploring the Zen meditation experiences of patients with generalized anxiety disorder: a focus-group approach. The journal of nursing research : JNR March 1, 2012
- Comparison of Spatio-Spectral Properties of Zen-Meditation and Resting EEG Based on Unsupervised Learning Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science 2021
- The Changes in Brain Waves in Monks and Nuns During Zen Meditation in Two Vietnamese Zen Truc Lam Monasteries Pastoral Psychology May 28, 2026
and 1 more in the library
Cites 3
- EEG Alpha Blocking Correlated with Perception of Inner Light During Zen Meditation The American Journal of Chinese Medicine 2003
- Does mindfulness meditation contribute to health? Outcome evaluation of a German sample. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine December 2002
- An observation on flash evoked cortical potentials and Qigong meditation. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine 1993