Analytical meditation improves physiological well-being in expert practitioners: a study on central and peripheral neurophysiological correlates
Callara, A. L.; Azarabad, M. H.; Sebastiani, L.; Sherab, N.; Khechok, J.; Tsering, J.; Thakchoe, J.; Soepa, J.; Vanello, N.; Scilingo, E. P.; Greco, A.; Neri, B.
Show abstract
Meditation has been long associated with improvements in mental well-being, emotional regulation, and attentional control. Yet, the diversity of meditative techniques and participant expertise has hindered the systematic identification of their neurophysiological correlates supporting these benefits. To address this challenge, we investigated the neurophysiological signatures of concentrative and analytical meditation in 35 experienced Tibetan monk practitioners. EEG, ECG, EDA, and respiration were simultaneously recorded during Concentrative, Loving-Kindness and Emptiness meditations. Linear-mixed-models revealed significant modulations in autonomic and cortical activity across meditations. Peripheral indices indicated enhanced parasympathetic tone, decreases respiratory rate, and gradual increase in EDA - reflecting a state of relaxed-alertness with concurrent vagal engagement and sustained sympathetic arousal. EEG analyses supported this state showing elevated gamma-band power during analytical meditations. These findings suggest that advanced meditative states foster an adaptive integration of autonomic and cortical responses, supporting the emergence of relaxed-vigilance - a psychophysiological condition associated with well-being and cognitive flexibility.
Matching journals
The top 4 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.
Similar papers in this journal
- Short-Term Meditation Training Alters Brain Activity and Sympathetic Responses at Rest, but not during the meditation 97%
- From thoughtless awareness to effortful cognition: alpha - theta cross-frequency dynamics in experienced meditators during meditation, rest and arithmetic 96%
- Confounding effects of heart rate, breathing rate, and frontal fNIRS on interoception 96%
Similar papers in this journal
- Cortical and autonomic responses during staged Taoist meditation: two distinct meditation strategies. 98%
- Improved Sleep, Cognitive Processing and Enhanced Learning and Memory Task Accuracy with Yoga Nidra Practice in Novices 95%
- Augmenting complex and dynamic performance through mindfulness-based cognitive training: an evaluation of training adherence, trait mindfulness, personality and resting-state EEG. 94%
Similar papers in this journal
- Mindfulness Training Alters Resting-State EEG Dynamics in Novice Practitioners via Mindful Breathing and Body-scan 95%
- The impact of modern jazz dance on the electrical brain activity 95%
- Enhanced Subjective Performance Achievement in Wind Instrument Playing through Positive Memory Recall: Effects of Sympathetic Activation and Emotional Valence 93%
Similar papers in this journal
- Deviation from typical brain activity during naturalistic stimulation is related to personality traits 93%
- Training interoceptive awareness with real-time haptic vs. visual heartbeat feedback 92%
- Heartbeat-evoked responses in M/EEG: A systematic review of methods with suggestions for analysis and reporting 92%
Similar papers in this journal
- Classification of complex emotions using EEG and virtual environment: proof of concept and therapeutic implication 94%
- Gamma Music: A New Acoustic Stimulus for Gamma-frequency Auditory Steady-State Response 93%
- Brain Functional Connectivity Correlates of Anomalous Interaction Between Sensorily Isolated Monozygotic Twins 92%
"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.