NEUROCARDIAC-CARDIORESPIRATORY INTERACTION OF HEART-BRAIN MAILUNS SYNCHRONY AT DEEP ZEN MEDITATION
Pei-Chen Lo, Wu Jue Miao Tian
Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis and Communications December 1, 2016 DOI: 10.4015/s1016237216500393 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Long-term, experienced Zen practitioners |
| Intervention | Heart-to-heart imprint sealing (HHIS) Zen meditation |
| Measures | standard deviation of the normal R-to-R intervals (SDNN), very-low-frequency (VLF) band power, low-frequency (LF) power, high-frequency (HF) power, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) |
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Key findings | During HHIS Zen meditation, the practitioners' heart-rate variability showed distinctive patterns, including a linear relationship between SDNN and VLF power, VLF power dominating other frequency bands, intermittent slow deep abdominal breathing with heart-rate boosts, a slowly fluctuating heart-rate baseline, and strong respiratory sinus arrhythmia synchrony. The authors propose a neurocardiac-cardiorespiratory mechanism involving energy centers they call mailuns. |
Abstract
Innovatively new behaviors of heart rate variability caused by special heart-transition process were observed in the long-term, well-experienced Zen practitioners while practicing the heart-to-heart imprint sealing (HHIS) Zen meditation. HHIS Zen practice involves specific neurocardiac-cardiorespiratory interaction while on the way of realizing the heart-dominant, detached brain. Results of analyzing the electrocardiogram and respiratory signals of 10 experienced practitioners reveal several distinctive characteristics: (1) remarkably linear correlation between standard deviation of the normal R-to-R intervals, SDNN, and total power in very-low-frequency (VLF, 0.0033–0.04[Formula: see text]Hz) band of power spectrum of the heart-rate sequence, (2) time-varying VLF power dominating over the low-frequency and high-frequency power in heart rate variability (HRV) variations, (3) intermittent transition into slowly, deeply abdominal respiration inducing a boost of heart rates, (4) heart-rate baseline slowly fluctuating at 0.005–0.0067[Formula: see text]Hz, about 1.5–2 cycles in 5-min period, and (5) remarkable respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) synchrony between heart rate and respiration rhythm. This paper proposes a rational scientific hypothesis for the neurocardiac-cardiorespiratory mechanism. The unique scheme of HHIS Zen meditation involves the spiritual-qi concentration and refinement for pinpointing into the particular energy centers, mailuns. Ignition by a subtle, deepest abdominal respiration, electrical impulses rapidly transmit from solar plexus to branchial plexuses to activate unique heart-transition process. Simultaneously, another branch streams upward the spinal cord to cervical plexus and brainstem that effectively harmonizes neurocardiac interactions. To investigate the underlying behaviors, time-domain and frequency-domain HRV based on continuous wavelet transform were employed.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE ZEN MEDITATION (ZAZEN) Zen priests and disciples of Zen sects of Buddhism | 1966 | Observational study | n = 48 |
| “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation Regular Zen practitioners and matched control subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Individual Trait Anxiety Levels Characterizing the Properties of Zen Meditation Healthy adults who had not previously practiced any form of meditation | 2004 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion 20 Zen meditation experts and 20 healthy matched non-meditators | 2016 | Observational cohort | n = 40 |
| EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure Experienced Zen meditation practitioners and matched controls | 2009 | Observational cohort | n = 46 |
Citations in the library
Cites 11
- Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Cerebral Cortex April 9, 2008
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Regulation of the Neural Circuitry of Emotion by Compassion Meditation: Effects of Meditative Expertise PLoS One March 25, 2008
- Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation: fMRI and EEG Evidence of Self-Stimulating a Reward System Neural Plasticity May 22, 2013
and 6 more in the library