Scientists discover a fascinating fact about the brains of meditators

Researchers have found that practitioners of mindfulness meditation show distinct patterns of brain activity from non-meditators, even at rest. Using advanced electroencephalography (EEG) techniques, the study published in Mindfulness found that meditators demonstrated differences in brain wave activity in theta, alpha, and gamma frequency bands. These differences, observed in both the intensity and distribution of brain activity, suggest that long-term meditation practice results in lasting changes in neural processes, potentially enhancing the cognitive and emotional benefits associated with full awareness.

Mindfulness meditation has gained popularity as a tool for managing stress, improving emotional well-being, and improving cognitive function. . This involves maintaining a focused, non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. While previous studies have linked mindfulness to various benefits, researchers want to understand the underlying neural mechanisms.

“We were interested in the topic because mindfulness meditation has been associated with improved mental health and cognitive performance, but the neurophysiological changes that enable these improvements are not fully characterized,” said the author of the study. study Neil Bailey, principal investigator at the School of Medicine. and psychology at the Australian National University.

“Although research has shown that the brain activity of experienced meditators differs whether they are performing a cognitive task or while they are meditating, there has not been much research to test whether their brain activity also differs when they are meditating. Moreover, most previous research examining the brain activity of meditators has used measures that are not sensitive to the fact that differences between meditators and non-meditators are produced by differences in the amplitude brain waves (rhythmic changes in voltages detected by electroencephalography; EEG, or whether the differences could be due to brain activity that is not rhythmic (voltage changes detected in EEG data that are less repetitive and would not be). not defined as “brain waves”).

“Similarly, previous research has used measures that do not distinguish between the amplitude of brain waves and the frequency at which the brain displays them,” Bailey explained. “Our goal was to more comprehensively characterize differences in brain activity in experienced meditators, using measures to differentiate brain waves from non-wave activity, as well as measures to differentiate differences in amplitude brain waves and differences in how brain waves are often present in EEG data Finally, we also used measures that could tell us whether the differences might be specific to particular regions of the brain or whether they might reflect differences global in all regions of the brain (or both).

For their study, the researchers recruited 92 participants, including 48 meditators with at least six months of consistent mindfulness practice and 44 non-meditators with minimal or no meditation experience. Groups were matched on demographic factors such as age and gender to reduce potential confounding variables. To ensure their mental health was stable, participants were screened for neurological or psychiatric problems and substance use.

The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG), a non-invasive method that measures the brain’s electrical activity using electrodes placed on the scalp. A 64-channel EEG cap captured neuronal oscillations while participants rested with their eyes open and closed. To ensure that participants were in a natural resting state, they were asked not to engage in meditation or deliberate mind control during the recording. This approach aimed to capture lasting “trait” changes in brain activity rather than temporary effects associated with active meditation.

The EEG data was preprocessed to remove artifacts caused by eye movements, muscle activity, or other noise. The researchers applied advanced algorithms to isolate true oscillatory activity, focusing on four key frequency bands: theta (4 to 8 Hz), alpha (8 to 13 Hz), beta (12 to 25 Hz), and gamma ( > 25Hz). Importantly, they used a new method to separate oscillatory activity from non-oscillatory background noise, ensuring that their results reflect real differences in neuronal oscillations rather than unrelated factors.

The results showed significant differences between meditators and non-meditators in three of the four frequency bands studied: theta, alpha and gamma. “These larger amplitudes are present when measured globally (across all brain regions), but also when we look at the distribution of these brain waves throughout the head,” Bailey told PsyPost.

Theta activity, associated with attention and working memory, was higher in meditators than in non-meditators. This increase was greater in posterior regions of the brain, suggesting an improvement in neural processes related to concentration and information processing in experienced meditators.

For alpha activity, meditators displayed greater overall power as well as a distinctive distribution pattern. While non-meditators showed stronger alpha activity primarily in posterior regions, meditators showed higher alpha activity in frontal regions compared to the rest of the brain. This shift in distribution may reflect greater inhibitory control over irrelevant or distracting thoughts, a cognitive function often enhanced by mindfulness practice.

Gamma activity, linked to higher-order cognitive functions and neural integration, was also higher in meditators. The increase was particularly pronounced in frontal regions, indicating potential neuroplastic changes associated with prolonged meditation practice. Gamma waves are thought to play a role in attention and integration of sensory information, suggesting that meditation could strengthen these abilities over time.

“Since these results were obtained while participants were simply resting (not performing any tasks), it is not clear which cognitive processes reflect these differences in brain activity,” Bailey explained. “However, each of these brain waves has been associated with specific neural processes – theta brain waves have been associated with directing attention and selecting a specific item to focus on when distracted, Alpha brain waves have been associated with engaging top-down neural activity to inhibit brain regions that are irrelevant to the task at hand, and gamma brain waves have been associated with energy-intensive processing of information. sensory as well as higher-order cognitive functions and working memory. The fact that meditators show increased amplitude of each of these brain activities could suggest that they can engage these brain activities more strongly when needed, perhaps providing a potential mechanism underlying improved cognitive function associated with long-term practice of mindfulness meditation.

Interestingly, the study found no significant differences in beta activity, associated with alertness and wakefulness, or in 1/f slope, a measure of non-rhythmic brain activity reflecting balance between neuronal excitation and inhibition. This suggests that the observed changes were specific to theta, alpha and gamma frequencies and do not indicate a general increase in brain activity across all frequency bands.

“We were a little surprised that there were no differences in non-rhythmic measures of brain activity, because these measures have been associated with an altered excitation/inhibition balance in the brain, where certain neuronal synapses “Some form inhibitory connections while others form excitatory connections, and the strength of the overall number of each of these types of connections determines a balance specific to each individual,” Bailey said. “This result suggests that meditation does not change. not the relative number or strength of excitatory or inhibitory connections, but perhaps alters the strength of connections between neuronal populations that determine the strength of theta, alpha, and gamma brain waves.”

But the study, like all research, comes with some caveats. Its cross-sectional design means it cannot establish causality – whether the observed brain differences were caused by meditation or whether individuals with these neural patterns are more likely to practice mindfulness.

“It may be that people attracted to the practice of mindfulness meditation already exhibit these differences in their neural activity,” Bailey noted. “However, many other longitudinal studies have shown that meditation does change brain activity, so it seems likely that the effects we detected are related to meditation practice.”

Still, the findings contribute to a growing body of evidence linking mindfulness meditation to lasting changes in brain function. By identifying specific alterations in theta, alpha and gamma oscillations, the study provides insight into the potential neural mechanisms behind the cognitive and emotional benefits of mindfulness.

“We want to understand how meditation changes the brain to provide mental health benefits,” Bailey said. “This understanding could be used to improve our understanding of the brain more generally, or our findings could be applied to help develop more effective treatments for mental illness.”

“We used the same data set to examine how brain waves pass through the cortex,” he added. “This study showed that meditators produce stronger traveling waves, associated with the processing of sensory information. They also exhibit weaker downward waves, but only at rest (they exhibit the same backward wave strength when performing a cognitive task that requires top-down attention).

“Retrograde waves are associated with predictions about sensory experience, as well as thoughts about the past and future. This may indicate that meditators are placing more emphasis on being aware of their sensations and not projecting their thoughts into the past or future as much while simply resting with their eyes closed. These findings are consistent with meditation practice and may provide a mechanism underlying the reduction in rumination which is suggested as one of the causal factors by which meditation may improve mental health.

The study, “The Mindful Brain at Rest: Neural Oscillations and Aperiodic Activity in Experienced Meditators,” was authored by Brittany McQueen, Oscar W. Murphy, Paul B. Fitzgerald, and Neil W. Bailey.