Towards a Meditation Brain State Model Using Electroencephalographic Data

Meditation has clear effects in bringing practitioners’ mind into a tranquil state and promoting both the mental and the physical health. The effect of meditation is measurable. We propose to establish a model for meditation state by applying modern experimental sciences to brain wave data. We start with a project that aims to create an application that takes electroencephalographic (EEG) data and exposes it to various analytical techniques so the resultant brain states can be studied and predicted. We present explanations of the design and implementation offered herein. Furthermore, a summary of the application’s functionality is elucidated. Upon completion, we anticipate that this software can be used to produce important and dependable conclusions about a given subject’s brain states and correlate that to an identified physical or psy-chological activity. Although our project is still in an early stage towards a model for meditation, through these studies, we believe we will be able to make meditation a beneficial practice to promote human’s life in modern society

Tinkering with the Unbearable Lightness of Being: Meditation, Mind-Body Medicine and Placebo in the Quantum Biology Age

There are empirical indications that mind-body therapies have a nonlocal quantum component, in addition to the psychoneuroimmunological pathways that have been the focus of the predominant experimental paradigm.  The discussion below addresses the evidence and proposed theoretical mechanisms supporting this conclusion, and makes the case that there should be a convergence of research agendas between mind-body interventions (including placebo),  photomedicine and quantum biology.  Specifically, the role of endogenously generated biophotons in the regulation of genetic expression and the apparent ability of mental intent to direct biophoton emissions to specifically targeted tissues needs to be further evaluated from the perspective of photobiomodulation mechanisms, with a special focus on the spectroscopy and dosimetry of these emissions. Finally, the possible role of long-term meditation in enhancing quantum biological effects has to be further investigated at the level of cellular and macromolecular remodeling, both in the brain and the body

Topological changes of brain network during mindfulness meditation: an exploratory source level magnetoencephalographic study

We have previously evidenced that Mindfulness Meditation (MM) in experienced meditators (EMs) is associated with long-lasting topological changes in resting state condition. However, what occurs during the meditative phase is still debated. Utilizing magnetoencephalography (MEG), the present study is aimed at comparing the topological features of the brain network in a group of EMs (n = 26) during the meditative phase with those of individuals who had no previous experience of any type of meditation (NM group, n = 29). A wide range of topological changes in the EM group as compared to the NM group has been shown. Specifically, in EMs, we have observed increased betweenness centrality in delta, alpha, and beta bands in both cortical (left medial orbital cortex, left postcentral area, and right visual primary cortex) and subcortical (left caudate nucleus and thalamus) areas. Furthermore, the degree of beta band in parietal and occipital areas of EMs was increased too. Our exploratory study suggests that the MM can change the functional brain network and provides an explanatory hypothesis on the brain circuits characterizing the meditative process

Influence of EEG tonic changes on Motor Imagery performance

© 2017 IEEE. In Motor Imagery literature, performance predictors are commonly divided in four categories: personal, psychological, anatomical and neurophysiological. However these predictors are limited to inter-subjects changes. To overcome this limitation and evaluate intra-subjects performance, we tried to combine two groups of these measures: psychological and neurophysiological. As neurophysiological variables tonic changes in resting EEG theta and alpha sub-bands were considered. As psychological parameter we analyzed internalized attention and its correlates in lower alpha. We found that when internalized attention doesn't decrease, Motor Imagery performance outcome can be correctly predicted by resting EEG tonic variations

Verarbeitung emotionaler Reize bei Personen mit einer Zwangsstörung

Trotz zahlreicher Untersuchungen lässt sich bei der Zwangsstörung noch kein einheitliches, alle Befunde integrierendes Krankheitsmodell formulieren. Die Verarbeitung von emotionalen Reizen könnte bei Personen mit Zwangsstörungen verändert sein. Dies trägt möglicherweise zur Entwicklung und Aufrechterhaltung der Störung bei. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, spezifische Komponenten dieser Verarbeitung zu untersuchen. Zuerst wurde in zwei unterschiedlichen Studien überprüft, ob die Orientierung der Aufmerksamkeit zu neuen Reizen bei Patienten mit Zwangsstörungen verstärkt ist. Zu diesem Zweck wurden durch neue Reize evozierte Potentiale im Elektroenzephalogramms (EEG) gemessen. Anschließend wurde in einer Studie überprüft, ob das Verhältnis der Aktivierungen von dem Vermeidungs- zum Annäherungssystem bei den Betroffenen verändert ist. Dies lässt sich an Hand der Ermittlung der hemisphärischen Verteilung von Alpha-Wellen in frontalen Hirnregionen feststellen. Die Ergebnisse der ersten beiden Studien ergaben, dass Patienten unabhängig vom emotionalen Kontext eine stärkere Aufmerksamkeitshinwendung zu neuen Reizen zeigen (Studie 1), was allerdings nicht beobachtet wurde, wenn die neuen Reize innerhalb des Aufmerksamkeitsfokus lagen (Studie 2). Dieses Ergebnis wurde als überaktives Gefahrenerkennungssystem bei Patienten interpretiert. Weiterhin ließ sich feststellen, dass Patienten im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollen in frontalen Hirnregionen eine Verlagerung der Alpha Asymmetrie zur linken Gehirnhemisphäre aufwiesen (Studie 3). Dieser Befund wurde unabhängig von einer Stimulierung durch emotionale Reize gemacht. Er lässt sich als stärkere Aktivierung des Vermeidungs- im Verhältnis zum Annäherungssystem deuten. Zusammengefasst zeigte sich bei Patienten mit Zwangsstörungen eine veränderte Verarbeitung von emotionalen Reizen. Aus diesen Befunden können spezifische Empfehlungen für die Behandlung der Störung abgeleitet werden.It is so not possible to formulate a disease model of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that integrates all the results of the many studies carried out. The neural processing of emotional stimuli might be altered in people with OCD. This might play an important role in the development and maintenance of OCD. The present work aimed to investigate specific components of the neural processing of emotional stimuli. The first two studies examined if the orienting of attention towards novel stimuli is enhanced in patients with OCD. For this purpose the event-related brain potentials evocated by novel stimuli in the electroencephalogram were recorded. The third study tested if the relationship between the withdrawal-avoidance mode and the approach mode of the motivational brain system is altered in OCD patients. This can be assessed by the hemispheric distribution of alpha power in frontal brain regions. The results of the first two studies showed that the orienting of attention towards novel stimuli is enhanced in patients with OCD independently of the emotional context condition (study 1), which could not be observed if the novel stimuli were listened to in active attentional mode (study 2). This was interpreted as a hypersensitive threat detection system. Further, it was found that patients showed a shift of frontal alpha activity to the left hemisphere compared to healthy control subjects (study 3). This result was independent of the viewing of emotional stimuli. It can be concluded that the avoidance mode is relatively increased in patients with OCD. Taken together, patients showed an altered neural processing of emotional stimuli. Specific recommendations for he treatment of the disorder can be drawn out of them

Smart Biofeedback

Smart biofeedback is receiving attention because of the widespread availability of advanced technologies and smart devices that are used in effective collection, analysis, and feedback of physiologic data. Researchers and practitioners have been working on various aspects of smart biofeedback methodologies and applications by using wireless communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, biomedical sensors, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, clinical virtual reality, smartphones, and apps, among others. The current paradigm shift in information and communication technologies (ICT) has been propelling the rapid pace of innovation in smart biofeedback. This book addresses five important topics of the perspectives and applications in smart biofeedback: brain networks, neuromeditation, psychophysiological psychotherapy, physiotherapy, and privacy, security, and integrity of data

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe concept of compassion is complex, where religious and philosophical writings are abundant but scientific publications remain sparse. The surge in neuroscientific publications related to prosocial behaviors, spirituality, and Buddhist-based meditation practices has sparked a growing interest in issues once considered foreign to the scientific arena. There is currently a strong need to develop neuroscientific methods that incorporate subjective trait and state measures. In addition, the use of powerful new technologies such as high density whole head magnetoencephalography (MEG) provides novel methods for mapping brain states over time in a way never before thought possible. The current proposal will attempt to use MEG in combination with both state and trait scales to better understand how mind and brain are related to the production of induced compassion. The sample for investigation will include high level Zen Buddhist practitioners with many years of intensive religious practice within a Buddhist framework that requires the cultivation of compassion. The hope is that these findings may one day shed light on an array of psychiatric disorders where certain forms of social impairments could benefit from practices traditionally sequestered within only religious context;s

Neural correlates of flow, boredom, and anxiety in gaming: An electroencephalogram study

Games are engaging and captivating from a human-computer interaction (HCI) perspective as they can facilitate a highly immersive experience. This research examines the neural correlates of flow, boredom, and anxiety during video gaming. A within-subject experimental study (N = 44) was carried out with the use of electroencephalogram (EEG) to assess the brain activity associated with three states of user experience - flow, boredom, and anxiety - in a controlled gaming environment. A video game, Tetris, was used to induce flow, boredom, and anxiety. A 64 channel EEG headset was used to track changes in activation patterns in the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes of the players\u27 brains during the experiment. EEG signals were pre-processed and Fast Fourier Transformation values were extracted and analyzed. The results suggest that the EEG potential in the left frontal lobe is lower in the flow state than in the resting and boredom states. The occipital alpha is lower in the flow state than in the resting state. Similarly, the EEG theta in the left parietal lobe is lower during the flow state than the resting state. However, the EEG theta in the frontal-temporal region of the brain is higher in the flow state than in the anxiety state. The flow state is associated with low cognitive load, presence of attention levels, and loss of self-consciousness when compared to resting and boredom states --Abstract, page iii

Brain Activity During Paired and Individual Mindfulness Meditation: A Controlled EEG Study

Objective: In this study, we evaluated brain electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in healthy participants during the performance of paired and individual mindfulness meditation (MM). We hypothesized that EEG activity is differentially affected by meditation in pairs compared to individual meditation. Methods: A total of 20 healthy female university students (mean age 19.54 years, SD =1.53) with no prior experience in MM participated in this study. All participants had to perform a 5-minute MM task together and individually while the other participant was in rest or performing a concentration task (control condition). To exclude social interaction as main factor, participants were separated from their research partner by an opaque screen while instructions were given through headphones. Brain electroencephalographic (EEG) activity from each individual student was measured during all conditions. Results: The main findings indicate that left-frontal alpha and theta spectral EEG power was significantly higher during the paired MM condition compared to individual MM and control condition. Conclusions: This controlled MM study demonstrates differences in brain activity between practicing mindfulness in pairs compared to practicing it individually. We conclude that the increased alpha and theta EEG power during paired MM may be associated with social facilitation or the activation of theory of mind. The results invite further reflection on interpersonal communication and mindfulness