Traditional Buddhist meditations reduce mismatch negativity in experienced monk- practitioners.
S V Medvedev, J A Boytsova, Y A Bubeev, A Y Kaplan, E V Kokurina, A Olsen, A E Smoleevskiy, N V Syrov, L V Yakovlev, Y S Zhironkina, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Tanzin Chhonden, Yeshi Dorje, Stanzin Lhakpa, Tenzin Lobsang, Kunga Lhundup, Ngawang Norbu, Lobsang Phuntsok, Lodoe Sangpo, Thupten Sherap, Tenzin Wangchuk
International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology November 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.08.011 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractDuring Buddhist meditations that involve one-pointed concentration, analytical meditation on bodhicitta and emptiness, and tantric visualizations, auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in 115 Buddhist monks show decreased mismatch negativity amplitudes, decreased N1 and P2 amplitudes to deviant stimuli, and decreased P3a amplitudes to novel stimuli compared to a control state of relaxed wakefulness. These outcomes suggest that such meditations are accompanied by a reduction in the physiological processes responsible for maintaining attention on the outside world and recognizing changes in sensory stimuli.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 115 |
| Population | Buddhist monks |
| Keywords | Auditory erps Auditory attention Buddhist meditations Mismatch negativity |
| Key finding | During Buddhist meditations, amplitudes of mismatch negativity, N1, P2, and P3a components of auditory ERPs decrease compared to relaxed wakefulness, indicating reduced attentional engagement with external stimuli. |
Abstract
Thousand-year-old Buddhist traditions have developed a wide range of methods for the subjective exploration of consciousness through meditation. Combining their subjective research with the possibilities of modern neuroscience can help us better understand the physiological mechanisms of consciousness. Therefore, we have been guided by specifically Buddhist explanations when studying the physiological mechanisms of altered states of consciousness during Buddhist meditations. In Buddhism, meditations are generally divided into two large categories: (1) one-pointed concentration and (2) analytical meditation. Maintaining both one-pointed concentration and analytical meditation on 'bodhicitta' ("the thought of awakening") and 'emptiness' is a necessary condition for transitioning into tantric practices. Tantric practices involve sophisticated visualizations of Buddhist deities, the 'energy structure' of the human body, and the visualization of the stage-by-stage process of dying accompanied with the dissolution of body elements. According to Buddhism, these meditations are characterized by the gradual withdrawal from "gross levels" of consciousness associated with the five senses. From a psychophysiological perspective, this withdrawal of sensory consciousness can be considered as the decrease of sensory stimuli recognition and attentional disengagement from the external world. We concentrated on how considered meditations affect sensory and cognitive processing of external stimuli. Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in the passive oddball paradigm were studied both during meditations and in a controlled state of relaxed wakefulness. It was shown with a group of 115 Buddhist monks that during meditation, mismatch negativity amplitudes, amplitudes of N1 and P2 components of ERPs to deviant stimuli, and the amplitudes of the P3a component to novel stimuli all decrease. These outcomes suggest that the considered Buddhist meditations, compared to the control state of relaxed wakefulness, are accompanied by a decrease in physiological processes responsible for maintaining attention on the outside world and recognizing changes in the stream of sensory stimuli.