Reduced mind wandering in experienced meditators and associated EEG correlates.
Tracy Brandmeyer, Arnaud Delorme
Experimental Brain Research September 2018 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-016-4811-5 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study comparing two groups Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Two groups of meditators: moderately experienced (non-expert) and highly advanced (expert) practitioners |
| Duration | ~1 h of seated concentration meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Alpha Cognitive control Mind wandering Top-down processing Fm theta |
| Key findings | Expert meditators reported more frequent and deeper sustained meditation, whereas non-experts reported more frequent and deeper mind wandering. During meditation compared with mind wandering, experts showed increased frontal midline theta and somatosensory alpha rhythms, which the authors associate with executive functioning, cognitive control, and sensory monitoring. The authors propose that internal and external attention may be maintained by similar neural mechanisms that meditation training can modulate. |
Abstract
One outstanding question in the contemplative science literature relates to the direct impact of meditation experience on the monitoring of internal states and its respective correspondence with neural activity. In particular, to what extent does meditation influence the awareness, duration and frequency of the tendency of the mind to wander. To assess the relation between mind wandering and meditation, we tested 2 groups of meditators, one with a moderate level of experience (non-expert) and those who are well advanced in their practice (expert). We designed a novel paradigm using self-reports of internal mental states based on an experiential sampling probe paradigm presented during ~1 h of seated concentration meditation to gain insight into the dynamic measures of electroencephalography (EEG) during absorption in meditation as compared to reported mind wandering episodes. Our results show that expert meditation practitioners report a greater depth and frequency of sustained meditation, whereas non-expert practitioners report a greater depth and frequency of mind wandering episodes. This is one of the first direct behavioral indices of meditation expertise and its associated impact on the reduced frequency of mind wandering, with corresponding EEG activations showing increased frontal midline theta and somatosensory alpha rhythms during meditation as compared to mind wandering in expert practitioners. Frontal midline theta and somatosensory alpha rhythms are often observed during executive functioning, cognitive control and the active monitoring of sensory information. Our study thus provides additional new evidence to support the hypothesis that the maintenance of both internal and external orientations of attention may be maintained by similar neural mechanisms and that these mechanisms may be modulated by meditation training.
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 70
- The neuroscience of meditation: classification, phenomenology, correlates, and mechanisms. Progress in Brain Research 2019
- Endogenous theta stimulation during meditation predicts reduced opioid dosing following treatment with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement. Neuropsychopharmacology September 12, 2020
- Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states. Cerebral Cortex January 14, 2024
- Mindfulness-induced endogenous theta stimulation occasions self-transcendence and inhibits addictive behavior. Science Advances October 14, 2022
- Volitional mental absorption in meditation: Toward a scientific understanding of advanced concentrative absorption meditation and the case of jhana. Heliyon May 14, 2024
and 65 more in the library
Cites 21
- The Brain's Default Mode Network Annual Review of Neuroscience May 4, 2015
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition Choice Reviews Online July 1, 2005
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
and 16 more in the library