Toward an interdisciplinary mind science of advanced meditation.
Jonathan M. Lieberman, Matthew D. Sacchet
Trends in Cognitive Sciences September 9, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2026.07.009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Neurophenomenology Advanced meditation Meditative endpoints |
| Key points | Argues that advanced meditation—states, stages, and endpoints that unfold with increasing expertise—constitutes an emerging interdisciplinary research subfield, and outlines its conceptual and methodological components and translational domains, including philosophical foundations, computational phenomenology, cognitive neuroscience, epidemiology and public health, clinical and well-being outcomes, and relations with psychedelic experiences. |
Abstract
Meditation research is increasingly moving beyond mindfulness and other early-stage practices toward advanced meditation, encompassing states, stages, and endpoints that progressively unfold with increasing expertise through meditative development. This emerging subfield consists of interdisciplinary research that brings advanced meditation within reach of systematic scientific investigation. Here we articulate this research subfield, including its constitutive conceptual and methodological components and interrelated translational domains: philosophical and theoretical foundations, computational phenomenology, cognitive neuroscience, epidemiology and public health, clinical and well-being outcomes, and relations with psychedelic experiences. This subfield represents an important development for meditation research and the mind sciences more broadly, with implications for health and well-being and for empirical understanding of the human mind.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 94
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders American Journal of Psychiatry July 1, 1992
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
and 89 more in the library