Analysis of heart rate signals during meditation using visibility graph complexity.
Mahda Nasrolahzadeh, Zeynab Mohammadpoory, Javad Haddadnia
Cognitive Neurodynamics February 2019 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-018-9501-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study using existing database recordings Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Heart rate signals from the Physionet database, recorded before and during meditation |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Measures | Graph index complexity (GIC) of visibility graphs (VGs) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Heart rate Nonlinear dynamics Visibility graph |
| Key findings | Heart rate signals were generally more complex during meditation than before it, as measured by the graph index complexity of visibility graphs. The authors propose that this simple measure, suited to the chaotic nature of biological signals, can help estimate heart rate complexity in meditation. |
Abstract
In the dynamics analysis of heart rate, the complexity of visibility graphs (VGs) is seen as a sign of short term variability in signals. The present study was conducted to investigate the possible impact of meditation on heart rate signals complexity using VG method. In this study, existing heart rate signals in Physionet database were used. The dynamics of the signals were then studied both before and during meditation by examining the complexity of VGs using graph index complexity (GIC). Generally, the obtained results showed that the heart rate signals were more complex during meditation. The simple process of calculating the GIC of VG and its adaptability to the chaotic nature of the biological signals can help in estimating the heart rate complexity in meditation.
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 5
- Nonlinear analysis of heart rate variability signals in meditative state: a review and perspective BioMedical Engineering OnLine April 13, 2023
- Detection of Meditation-Induced HRV Dynamics Using Averaging Technique-Based Oversampled Feature Set and Machine Learning Classifiers IEEE Access 2023
- Novel machine learning-driven comparative analysis of CSP, STFT, and CSP-STFT fusion for EEG data classification across multiple meditation and non-meditation sessions in BCI pipeline Brain Informatics February 8, 2025
- Common spatial pattern for classification of loving kindness meditation EEG for single and multiple sessions Brain Informatics September 9, 2023
- From visibility graphs to cognition. Frontiers in Network Physiology 2026
Cites 4
- Effect of meditation on psychological distress and brain functioning: A randomized controlled study Brain and Cognition August 1, 2018
- Gray Matter and Functional Connectivity in Anterior Cingulate Cortex are Associated with the State of Mental Silence During Sahaja Yoga Meditation. Neuroscience February 10, 2018
- Quantitative assessment of Heart Rate Dynamics during meditation: An ECG based study with Multi-fractality and visibility graph Frontiers in Physiology July 4, 2016
- Dynamic correlations between heart and brain rhythm during Autogenic meditation Frontiers in Human Neuroscience July 31, 2013