Improving Prefrontal Oxygenation and Cardiac Autonomic Activity Following Meditation: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study.
Cureus August 1, 2024 Sushanta Mohanty, Deepeshwar Singh, Amit Singh et al. 1 citation
Practicing the mind sound resonance technique (MSRT), a meditative relaxation approach, improved oxygenation in the right prefrontal cortex and altered heart rate variability—increasing low-frequency and decreasing high-frequency components—compared to baseline in college students aged 19–30. Fifty volunteers (30 women, 20 men) were split into MSRT and supine rest groups. MSRT also showed a significant difference from supine rest in the standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals of heart rate variability. Self-reported mindfulness and anxiety were measured before and after. The evidence suggests MSRT may help develop anxiety-related coping skills by promoting prefrontal cortex oxygenation and modulating heart rate variability.