Meditation: A Performance Booster for BCI Applications
Lin Liang, D. Shastri
CHI Extended Abstracts April 20, 2018 DOI: 10.1145/3170427.3174354 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 5 |
| Population | Human volunteers |
| Duration | 10-15 minutes of meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | After a brief guided meditation, participants were able to lift a brain-controlled toy helicopter for longer durations than in a control condition, and this improvement was significantly greater than after sitting idle. The authors suggest that even short-term meditation may enhance mental concentration for BCI control. |
Abstract
A key factor that a typical Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) demands of operators is concentration of mind. A focused mind is more effective in controlling a BCI. One way to improve mental concentration is meditation. Past studies have demonstrated the positive effect of long-term meditation (month-long to year-long) on BCI performance. In this study, we examined the impact of short-term meditation (10-15 minutes long). We explored two guided meditation techniques of mindfulness: 1) open monitoring, and 2) mindful breathing. A brain-controlled toy helicopter was used as a testbed. Five participants volunteered in the experiment in which they were exposed to an emotional stressor of a violent video gameplay followed by operating the helicopter through mental concentration. A brief meditation intervention was introduced between the video gameplay and the BCI task. The results reveal that, in comparison to the control trial, participants were able to lift the helicopter for longer time durations after meditation. Furthermore, this performance improvement was significantly greater than the participants achieved by sitting idle.
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 2
- MindTouch: Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Mid-Air Tactile Perception International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems April 19, 2023
- Understanding the First Person Experience of Walking Mindfulness Meditation Facilitated by EEG Modulated Interactive Soundscape International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction February 14, 2021
Cites 4
- Effect of mindfulness meditation on brain-computer interface performance. Consciousness and Cognition 2014
- Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts. Behaviour Research and Therapy October 1, 2010
- Improving the performance of brain-computer interface through meditation practicing. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference 2008
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research July 1, 2004