EEG correlates of cognitive time scales in the Necker-Zeno model for bistable perception.
J Kornmeier, E Friedel, M Wittmann, H Atmanspacher
Consciousness and Cognition August 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.04.011 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental psychophysiology study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Experienced meditators and non-meditators |
| Measures | centro-parietal event-related potential (CPP) latency, dwell times T |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Ambiguous figures Bistable perception Cognitive time scales EEG Event-related potentials Necker cube Necker-zeno model Quantum cognition |
| Key findings | Dwell times and centro-parietal event-related potential (CPP) latencies, taken as a correlate of t0, differed between passive viewing and attempts to hold the current percept, and between meditators and non-meditators, while ΔT remained constant within the range predicted by the Necker-Zeno model. The covariation of CPP latencies and dwell times, and their quadratic functional dependence, extends prior psychophysical confirmation of the Necker-Zeno model to psychophysiological measures. |
Abstract
The Necker-Zeno model of bistable perception provides a formal relation between the average duration of meta-stable percepts (dwell times T) of ambiguous figures and two other basic time scales (t0, ΔT) underlying cognitive processing. The model predicts that dwell times T covary with t0, ΔT or both. We tested this prediction by exploiting that observers, in particular experienced meditators, can volitionally control dwell times T. Meditators and non-meditators observed bistable Necker cubes either passively or tried to hold their current percept. The latencies of a centro-parietal event-related potential (CPP) were recorded as a physiological correlate of t0. Dwell times T and the CPP latencies, correlated with t0, differed between conditions and observer groups, while ΔT remained constant in the range predicted by the model. The covariation of CPP latencies and dwell times, as well as their quadratic functional dependence extends previous psychophysical confirmation of the Necker-Zeno model to psychophysiological measures.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Hierarchical consciousness: the Nested Observer Windows model. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2024
- Dynamics of mental imagery. Consciousness and Cognition May 1, 2025
- Conscious interpretation: A distinct aspect for the neural markers of the contents of consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition February 1, 2023
- Changes in Subjective Time and Self during Meditation. Biology July 26, 2022
- A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience August 7, 2020
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Cites 9
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
- Introduction to Research Topic – Binocular Rivalry: A Gateway to Studying Consciousness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Meditation alters perceptual rivalry in Tibetan Buddhist monks Current Biology June 1, 2005
- Neurophysiological Effects of Meditation Based on Evoked and Event Related Potential Recordings. BioMed Research International June 7, 2015
- Subjective expansion of extended time-spans in experienced meditators. Frontiers in Psychology January 14, 2015
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