Progress in brain research
January 1, 2023
Ruben E Laukkonen, Matthew D Sacchet, Henk Barendregt et al.
56 citations
Meditation practitioners report being able to induce a total absence of consciousness lasting up to seven days, known as cessation or nirodha samāpatti. Unlike sleep, individuals in this state cannot be woken by external stimulation, experience no sense of time or tiredness, and have a stiff rather than relaxed body. Emerging from cessation is said to produce profound effects such as sudden clarity, openness, and insights. This paper outlines the historical context, presents preliminary data from two labs, sets a research agenda, and provides an initial framework for understanding these experiences. It integrates classical Buddhist concepts of nirodha and nirodha samāpatti into current cognitive-neurocomputational and active inference frameworks of meditation.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
January 14, 2024
Winson Fu Zun Yang, Avijit Chowdhury, Marta Bianciardi et al.
41 citations
Jhanas are profound meditative states that can deconstruct ordinary consciousness, according to a case study of an adept meditator. Using 4 hours of 7T fMRI data collected across 27 sessions, the study identified distinctive brain activity patterns in cortical, subcortical, brainstem, and cerebellar regions during jhana meditation. Correlations between brain activity and phenomenological qualities of attention, jhanic qualities, and narrative processing showed that jhanas differ from non-meditative states. The findings suggest jhana practice offers unique insights into consciousness and potential benefits for mental health and well-being.
Brain topography
September 1, 2024
Remko Van Lutterveld, Avijit Chowdhury, Daniel M Ingram et al.
29 citations
A single advanced meditator with over 6,000 hours of retreat mindfulness training experienced 37 cessation events—dramatic moments of profound clarity and equanimity involving a complete break in experience—while EEG was recorded. From 21 seconds before each cessation, whole-brain functional connectivity in the alpha band decreased linearly, then returned to prior levels over the 40 seconds following. The decrease was driven by frontal-to-left-temporal and posterior connections, while the recovery involved widespread increases. No change in network integration was observed. These findings provide neuroscientific evidence of large-scale brain modulation during cessation events, laying groundwork for future studies of advanced meditation.
Human brain mapping
May 1, 2024
Saampras Ganesan, Winson F Z Yang, Avijit Chowdhury et al.
23 citations
In an adept practitioner performing jhana meditation over 5 days inside a 7 Tesla MRI scanner (27 runs), the thalamus and several cortical networks—somatomotor, limbic, default-mode, control, and temporo-parietal—showed good within-subject reliability across all jhanas. When fMRI measurements were adjusted for variability in self-reported phenomenology, other networks such as attention and salience showed noticeable increases in reliability. The findings provide a preliminary template of reliable brain areas likely underpinning core neurocognitive elements of jhana meditation and highlight the value of neurophenomenological designs for characterizing neuronal variability in advanced meditative states.
NeuroImage
January 1, 2025
Winson F Z Yang, Avijit Chowdhury, Terje Sparby et al.
12 citations
The stages of insight (SoI) are a series of psychological realizations experienced during advanced investigative insight meditation (AIIM). In a case study of one adept meditator who underwent 4 hours of 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) across 26 runs with concurrent phenomenological reports, distinct whole-brain activity patterns were identified for specific SoI, differing from non-meditative control states. SoI consistently deactivated brain regions involved in self-related processing, such as the medial prefrontal cortex and temporal poles, while activating areas linked to awareness and perception, including parietal and visual cortices, caudate, brainstem nuclei, and cerebellum. Patterns of brain activity related to affective processing and SoI phenomenology were also observed. This provides the first neurophenomenological evidence that SoI shifts and deconstructs self-related perception and conceptualization, increasing general awareness and perceptual sensitivity.