Visualization of the Effect of Mantra Meditation on Prenatal Women: EEG Topomap Representation
N. Sharma, Kuricheti Prerana, Divya Sasidharan
2026 IEEE International Conference on Recent Advances in Electronics, Communication, Computing, Automation and Power May 1, 2026 DOI: 10.1109/reccap69368.2026.11723930 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational EEG study Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 43 |
| Population | Pregnant women in the PEM-43 dataset |
| Intervention | Mantra meditation |
| Duration | Two trials; duration not specified |
| Measures | Power spectral density (PSD), EEG topomaps, Pearson correlation, amplitude measures |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Short-duration mantra meditation was associated with changes in prenatal EEG power spectra and spatial patterns, with 12 of 43 women (27.9%) showing repetition-dependent improvement in the second trial. Frontal and parietal regions showed spatial differences between resting and post-meditation states, and the authors report high inter-trial consistency (mean Pearson r = 0.852) and 95.5% agreement between PSD and amplitude measures. |
Abstract
Mental health during pregnancy significantly influences both maternal brain function and fetal development, making safe and natural interventions highly valuable. One such method is mantra meditation, which is easy to use and have calming benefits. This study uses EEG data from 43 women in the PEM-43 dataset, recorded under Resting State (RS) and After Meditation (AM) conditions over two trials, to examine the effects of small-duration mantra meditation on prenatal brain activity. Welch’s method was used to calculate power spectral density (PSD) over the delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands. Using ±1 SD thresholds for classification, 12 subjects (27.9%) were found to have cumulative, repetition-dependent improvement in Trial 2 but not in Trial 1. To analyze these people’s spatial brain changes, EEG topomaps were developed. Especially in the frontal and parietal lobes there are considerable spatial variations between the RS and AM phases which is indicating that even short-term mantra exposure can change the fetal brain activity. Strong dependence on spectrum, great inter-trial consistency (mean Pearson r = 0.852; alpha up to 0.966), and 95.5% agreement between PSD and amplitude measures all support the results. Rapid neuronal sensitivity is shown by effect size analysis, which also supports a change from initial variability in Trial 1 to more stable and improved responses in Trial 2. Overall, the work offers a scalable pipeline for future longitudinal studies on maternal well-being and a clear spatial understanding of meditation-induced brain changes.
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
Cites 6
- Evaluating Brain Activity in Response to Short Meditation Stimuli Using R-Score, Electroencephalography, and Neural Networks. Annals of Neurosciences October 17, 2025
- Tetrahedral feature map for analyzing meditative states in prenatal EEG Engineering Research Express May 6, 2025
- Brief Mantra Meditation Increases Theta Power in Frontal Regions 2025 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Systems, Advanced Computing and Communication February 27, 2025
- Investigating Alpha Power Variations Across Meditative States in Prenatal Women 2024 International Conference on Recent Progresses in Science, Engineering and Technology December 7, 2024
- Impact Study of Traditional Meditation Practices Using PSD Assessment of EEG Signals 2024 3rd Edition of IEEE Delhi Section Flagship Conference November 21, 2024
and 1 more in the library