High-precision neurofeedback-guided meditation training optimises real-world self-guided meditation practice for well-being
Saampras Ganesan, Nicholas T. van Dam, Sunjeev K. Kamboj, Aki Tsuchiyagaito, Matthew D. Sacchet, Masaya Misaki, Bradford A. Moffat, Valentina Lorenzetti, Andrew Zalesky
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) October 26, 2024 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.25.618656 via OpenAlex
Summary
Personalized high-precision neurofeedback improved disengagement from mental activity during meditation in novice meditators. In a study with 40 participants, those receiving feedback from their own posterior cingulate cortex showed better control over their mental processes compared to a control group. This resulted in greater emotional well-being and mindful awareness during a week of self-guided meditation. The findings suggest that neurofeedback can enhance the benefits of meditation practice.
Study at a glance
| Design | controlled longitudinal study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | novice meditators |
| Key finding | Personalized neurofeedback training led to better disengagement from mental processes during meditation and improved emotional well-being. |
Abstract
Meditation can benefit well-being and mental health, but novices often struggle to effectively recognize and disengage from mental processes during meditation due to limited awareness, potentially diminishing meditation's benefits. We investigated whether personalised high-precision neurofeedback (NF) can improve disengagement from mental activity during meditation and enhance meditation's outcomes. In a single-blind, controlled, longitudinal paradigm, 40 novice meditators underwent two consecutive days of meditation training with intermittent visual feedback from either their own (N=20) or a matched participant's (N=20; control group) posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) activity measured using 7 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging. During training, the experimental group showed stronger functional decoupling of PCC from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, indicating better control over disengagement from mental processes during meditation. This led to greater improvements in emotional well-being and mindful awareness of mental processes during a week of real-world self-guided meditation. We provide compelling evidence supporting the utility of high-precision NF-guided meditation training to optimise real-world meditation practice for well-being.