Why is mindfulness helpful? Exploration of the flexibility of cortical control in practitioners of Buddhism.
Jei-Yi Lu, Chih-Chieh Chang, Tzu-Ling Chang, Wei-Lun Lin
Consciousness and Cognition June 28, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103902 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 56 |
| Population | Buddhist meditation practitioners and nonpractitioners |
| Intervention | EEG neurofeedback procedure |
| Topics | Meditation Buddhism |
| Keywords | Buddhist mindfulness Mental flexibility Neurofeedback Self-esteem Subjective well-being Brain flexibility |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Buddhist meditation practitioners demonstrated significantly higher alpha transformation index, indicating greater mental flexibility, along with enhanced self-esteem, life satisfaction, and lower negative affect compared to nonpractitioners. |
Abstract
Empirical evidence has demonstrated the beneficial effects of mindfulness in the enhancement of positive psychology factors and cognitive performances, as well as in the remission of psychological distress. Researchers have proposed mechanisms for mindfulness' comprehensive effects, such as through mental flexibility, and examined indices of neurophysiological changes. This study provided a new neuroscientific index via the aid of a neurofeedback device to investigate the role of active cortical control and, hence, mental flexibility in Buddhist meditation practitioners as compared to nonpractitioners. Twenty-eight Buddhist meditation practitioners and 28 nonpractitioners proceeded individually with the EEG neurofeedback procedure as well as with the assessments of self-esteem, subjective well-being, and Buddhist mindfulness levels. The neurofeedback procedure was designed to provide signal feedback according to participants' alpha brainwaves state, and participants were asked to maintain the appearance and disappearance of the signal as best as they could. The alpha transformation index was computed to measure the ability to voluntarily transition between their mental states. Our results showed that after controlling for age and gender, practitioners demonstrated a significantly higher alpha transformation index, indicating greater mental flexibility, along with enhanced self-esteem, life satisfaction, and lower negative affect as compared to nonpractitioners. The alpha transformation index was also significantly and positively correlated with Buddhist mindfulness levels and life satisfaction. These findings suggest that mindfulness might help improve the ability to switch between different mental processes via modulations of neural efficiency markers and exert its beneficial effects. The newly developed neuroscientific index also encourages future worthwhile investigations.
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 37
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- Neural mechanisms of attentional control in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Neuroscience 2013
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
and 32 more in the library