Young Jacob H, Arterberry Martha E, Martin Joshua P
Department of Biology, Colby College, Waterville, ME, United States.
Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, ME, United States.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Apr 30;15:628417. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.628417. eCollection 2021.
Meditation is an umbrella term for a number of mental training practices designed to improve the monitoring and regulation of attention and emotion. Some forms of meditation are now being used for clinical intervention. To accompany the increased clinical interest in meditation, research investigating the neural basis of these practices is needed. A central hypothesis of contemplative neuroscience is that meditative states, which are unique on a phenomenological level, differ on a neurophysiological level. To identify the electrophysiological correlates of meditation practice, the electrical brain activity of highly skilled meditators engaging in one of six meditation styles (shamatha, vipassana, zazen, dzogchen, tonglen, and visualization) was recorded. A mind-wandering task served as a control. Lempel-Ziv complexity showed differences in nonlinear brain dynamics (entropy) during meditation compared with mind wandering, suggesting that meditation, regardless of practice, affects neural complexity. In contrast, there were no differences in power spectra at six different frequency bands, likely due to the fact that participants engaged in different meditation practices. Finally, exploratory analyses suggest neurological differences among meditation practices. These findings highlight the importance of studying the electroencephalography (EEG) correlates of different meditative practices.
冥想是多种心理训练方法的统称,旨在改善对注意力和情绪的监测与调节。现在某些形式的冥想正被用于临床干预。为了配合对冥想日益增长的临床兴趣,需要开展研究来探究这些方法的神经学基础。静观神经科学的一个核心假设是,冥想状态在现象学层面上是独特的,在神经生理学层面上也有所不同。为了确定冥想练习的电生理相关性,记录了从事六种冥想方式(止观禅、内观禅、坐禅、大圆满禅、施受法和观想)之一的高技能冥想者的脑电活动。以走神任务作为对照。莱姆尔-齐夫复杂度显示,与走神相比,冥想过程中大脑的非线性动力学(熵)存在差异,这表明无论何种练习方式,冥想都会影响神经复杂性。相比之下,六个不同频段的功率谱没有差异,这可能是由于参与者进行了不同的冥想练习。最后,探索性分析表明不同冥想练习之间存在神经学差异。这些发现凸显了研究不同冥想练习的脑电图(EEG)相关性的重要性。