Nonlinear EEG signatures of mind wandering during breath focus meditation
bioRxiv Preprint Server March 27, 2022 Yiqing Lu, Julio Rodriguez-Larios 2 citations preprint
During breath focus meditation, novice practitioners often experience mind wandering. Previous EEG studies using linear metrics have produced inconsistent results. This study assessed whether nonlinear EEG signatures could characterize mind wandering. Twenty-five participants were interrupted during meditation to report whether they were focusing on the breath or thinking about something else. EEG complexity was measured using three algorithms: Higuchi’s fractal dimension, Lempel-Ziv complexity, and sample entropy. EEG complexity was generally reduced during mind wandering compared to breath focus states. The authors conclude that EEG complexity metrics can distinguish mind wandering from breath focus in novice practitioners and could be used in future EEG neurofeedback protocols.