The Effect of Meditation on Comprehension of Statements About One-Self and Others: A Pilot ERP and Behavioral Study.
Alexander N. Savostyanov, Sergey Tamozhnikov, Andrey V. Bocharov, Alexander Saprygin, Yuriy Matushkin, Sergey Lashin, Galina Kolpakova, Klimenty Sudobin, Gennady G. Knyazev
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience January 9, 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00437 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 53 |
| Population | Age-matched control individuals and Samatha meditators with short-term (3-5 years) and long-term (10-30 years) practice experience |
| Measures | Task performance time (TPT), accuracy of error detection (AED), P300, P600 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | EEG And Erp Samatha meditation |
| Key findings | Both short- and long-term meditators performed the error-recognition task faster than non-meditators, with no behavioral differences between the two meditator groups. Non-meditators reacted more slowly to aggression-related sentences and showed better error detection for self-related than other-related sentences, differences that were absent in meditators. Long-term meditators showed higher P300 amplitude in frontal and left temporal regions. The authors argue these results indicate that long-term meditation increases the ability to process negative emotional stimuli and may reflect increased voluntary control over emotional state. |
Abstract
The main goal of this study was to examine the effect of long-term meditation practice on behavioral indicators and ERP peak characteristics during an error-recognition task, where participants were presented with emotionally negative (evoking anxiety or aggression) written sentences describing self-related or non-self-related emotional state and personality traits. In total, 200 sentences written in Russian with varying emotional coloring were presented during the task, with half of the sentences containing a grammatical error that the participants were asked to identify. The EEG was recorded in age-matched control individuals (n = 17) and two groups of Samatha meditators with relatively short- (3-5 years' experience, n = 18) and long-term (10-30 years' experience, n = 18) practice experience. Task performance time (TPT) and accuracy of error detection (AED) were chosen as behavioral values. Amplitude, time latency and cortical distribution of P300 and P600 peaks of ERP were used as a value of speech-related brain activity. All statistical effects of meditation were estimated, controlling for age and sex. No behavioral differences between two groups of meditators were found. General TPT was shorter for both groups of meditators compared to the control group. Non-meditators reacted significantly slower to sentences about aggression than to sentences about anxiety or non-emotional sentences, whereas no significance was found between meditator groups. Non-meditators had better AED for the sentences about one-self than for the sentences about other people, whereas the meditators did not show any significant difference. The amplitude of P300 peak in frontal and left temporal scalp regions was higher for long-term meditators in comparison with both intermediate and control groups. The latency of P300 and P600 in left frontal and temporal regions positively correlated with TPT, whereas the amplitude of P300 in these regions had a negative correlation with TPT. We demonstrate that long-term meditation practice increases the ability of an individual to process negative emotional stimuli. The differences in behavioral reactions after onset of negative information that was self-related and non-self-related, which is typical for non-meditators, disappeared due to the influence of meditation. ERP results could be interpreted as a value of increase in voluntary control over emotional state during meditational practice.
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
Cited by 3
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- Convolutional neural networks for classifying healthy individuals practicing or not practicing meditation according to the EEG data. Vavilovskii zhurnal genetiki i selektsii December 1, 2023
- A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience August 7, 2020
Cites 27
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- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
- Cognitive-Affective Neural Plasticity following Active-Controlled Mindfulness Intervention Journal of Neuroscience October 31, 2012
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Zen Meditation for Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Psychological Distress Journal of Psychiatric Practice July 1, 2012
and 22 more in the library