Brain & Behaviour Research Institute and School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Brain & Behaviour Research Institute and School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2024 Nov;205:112439. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2024.112439. Epub 2024 Sep 10.
Neuroscience has identified that mindfulness meditation induces a state of relaxed alertness, characterised by changes in theta and alpha oscillations and reduced sympathetic arousal, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to address this gap by examining changes in neural oscillations and arousal during mindfulness meditation using both traditional and data-driven methods. Fifty-two healthy young adults underwent electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance level (SCL) recordings during resting baseline and mindfulness meditation conditions, both conducted with eyes closed. The EEG data revealed a significant decrease in traditional alpha (8-13 Hz) amplitude during mindfulness meditation compared to rest. However, no significant differences were observed between conditions in traditional delta, theta, beta, or gamma amplitudes. Frequency Principal Components Analysis (fPCA) was employed as a data-driven approach, identifying six components consistent across conditions. A complex delta-theta-alpha component significantly increased during mindfulness meditation. In contrast, low alpha (9.5 Hz) and low alpha-beta (11 Hz) components decreased significantly during mindfulness meditation. No significant differences were observed between conditions in the delta, high alpha, and high alpha-beta components. Additionally, there were no significant differences in SCL between conditions, nor were there correlations between traditional alpha or fPCA components and SCL. These findings support the conceptualisation of mindfulness meditation as a state of relaxed alertness, characterised by changes in neural oscillations likely associated with attention and awareness. However, the observed changes do not appear to be driven by arousal.
神经科学已经确定，正念冥想会诱导一种放松警觉的状态，其特征是θ和α振荡的变化以及交感神经兴奋的减少，尽管其潜在机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在通过使用传统和数据驱动的方法，在正念冥想期间检查神经振荡和唤醒的变化，来填补这一空白。52 名健康的年轻成年人在静息基线和正念冥想条件下接受了脑电图（EEG）和皮肤电导率（SCL）记录，两种条件均闭眼进行。EEG 数据显示，与休息相比，正念冥想期间传统α（8-13 Hz）幅度显著降低。然而，在传统的δ、θ、β或γ幅度方面，条件之间没有观察到显著差异。频率主成分分析（fPCA）作为一种数据驱动方法，识别出六个在所有条件下都一致的分量。一个复杂的δ-θ-α分量在正念冥想期间显著增加。相比之下，在正念冥想期间，低α（9.5 Hz）和低α-β（11 Hz）分量显著降低。在条件之间，δ、高α和高α-β分量没有观察到显著差异。此外，在条件之间，SCL 没有差异，传统的α或 fPCA 分量与 SCL 之间也没有相关性。这些发现支持将正念冥想概念化为一种放松警觉的状态，其特征是神经振荡的变化，这些变化可能与注意力和意识有关。然而，观察到的变化似乎不是由唤醒引起的。
