Robot-Assisted Mindfulness Practice: Analysis of Neurophysiological Responses and Affective State Change
arXiv Preprint Archive August 12, 2020 Maryam Alimardani, Linda Kemmeren, Kazuki Okumura et al.
A robot assistant guided mindfulness meditation while recording brain activity via EEG. Two groups of people interacted with the robot, one group meditating and the other not. Unlike prior meditation studies, the robot-guided practice did not change frontal alpha or theta brain waves. However, the meditation group showed stronger right-sided occipital gamma activity, linked to sensory awareness and open monitoring. Participants reported improved mood after interacting with the robot, regardless of whether they meditated. The findings suggest EEG can detect mindful states during robot-guided meditation, but the brain changes may differ from traditional meditation. This is the first report of EEG changes during robot-guided mindfulness practice.