A randomized, double-blind trial tested a neurofeedback wearable device for stress reduction. Participants with psychological stress, depression, or sleep disturbances used either neurofeedback-assisted meditation or non-assisted meditation for 12 minutes twice daily over two weeks. The neurofeedback group showed a significantly greater reduction in perceived stress scores compared to the control group. State anxiety tended to improve more with neurofeedback, though not significantly. Depressive mood and sleep improved in both groups without significant differences. Stress hormones and brainwave measures did not differ between groups. Device satisfaction was significantly higher in the neurofeedback group. Neurofeedback-assisted meditation can enhance subjective stress relief beyond meditation alone.
Indian intellectual traditions developed a distinctive 'relational organ model' in which brain and heart function as complementary poles of a single vital-cognitive network connected by the nāḍī (neural-energetic channel) system, neither purely cardiocentric nor encephalocentrist but integrated within a hierarchical framework. This model evolved from the Atharvaveda through classical Āyurvedic texts to Haṭha Yoga literature, which located ultimate consciousness in the cranial Sahasrāra while preserving the heart as the integrative hub. The Sāṃkhya philosophical framework provided the metaphysical key by distinguishing non-material consciousness (puruṣa) from the material cognitive apparatus (antaḥkaraṇa). The article brings these historical findings into dialogue with modern neurocardiology and prāṇāyāma science.