Mapping complex mind states: EEG neural substrates of meditative unified compassionate awareness.
Poppy L A Schoenberg, Andrea Ruf, John Churchill, Daniel Brown, Judson A. Brewer
Consciousness and Cognition January 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.11.003 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational EEG study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Advanced meditators |
| Duration | 60-min of instructed practice |
| Measures | EEG alpha, beta, and gamma frequency-spatial current density |
| Key findings | Compared with resting baseline, meditation onset significantly reduced current density across alpha, beta, and gamma frequencies in self-referential and executive-control regions. Gamma-band current density increased significantly from state 1 (timelessness) to state 4 (unified compassionate oneness) in the anterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and superior parietal lobule, and beta-band activity increased in the insula. The authors suggest this indicates a dissociation between brain regions regulating self-referential versus executive-control processing during non-dual, compassionate states. |
Abstract
Specific mental training cultivates diminished self-reference, encompassing non-duality, emptiness, awakened-awareness, and compassionate experiences. We aimed to elucidate the neural substrates of four distinct, interdependent Essence-of-Mind states: (1) timelessness, (2) non-preference, non-duality, non-conceptualization, (3) the view of luminosity and limitlessness, (4) unified compassionate experience of oneness (stable awakened-awareness). EEG data were collected from 30 advanced meditators concomitant to eyes-open/eyes-closed resting baseline, followed by 60-min of instructed practice. Alpha, beta, and gamma, frequency-spatial EEG-dimensions were analyzed. The results revealed that compared to baseline, current density across frequencies significantly decreased upon meditation onset in self-referential, and executive-control regions. During meditation, gamma-band current density significantly increased from state-1 compared to state-4, within the ACC, precuneus, and superior parietal lobule, whereas beta-band activity increased within the insula. These findings suggest a dissociation between brain regions regulating self-referential vs. executive-control processing, during non-dual, compassionate states, characterized by brilliantly awake awareness, free from conceptual thought and "doing".
Citations in the library
Cited by 38
- Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience March 26, 2018
- Mapping meditative states and stages with electrophysiology: concepts, classifications, and methods. Current Opinion in Psychology August 1, 2019
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- Drawing the experience dynamics of meditation bioRxiv Preprint Server March 4, 2022
- Understanding the Nature of Oneness Experience in Meditators Using Collective Intelligence Methods Frontiers in Psychology September 17, 2020
and 33 more in the library
Cites 43
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and 38 more in the library