Abstract
Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from 19 scalp recording sites were used to differentiate among two posited unique forms of mediation, concentration and mindfulness, and a normal relaxation control condition. Analyzes of all traditional frequency bandwidth data (i.e., delta 1–3 Hz; theta, 4–7 Hz; alpha, 8–12 Hz; beta 1, 13–25 Hz; beta 2, 26–32 Hz) showed strong mean amplitude frequency differences between the two meditation conditions and relaxation over numerous cortical sites. Furthermore, significant differences were obtained between concentration and mindfulness states at all bandwidths. Taken together, our results suggest that concentration and mindfulness “meditations” may be unique forms of consciousness and are not merely degrees of a state of relaxation.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Adrian, E.D., & Mathews, B.H.C. (1934). The Berger rhythm: Potential changes for the occipital lobes of man. Brain, 57, 335–385.
Badawi, K., Wallace, R.K., Orme-Johnson, D., & Rouzere, A.M. (1984). Electrophysiological characteristics of respiratory suspension periods occurring during the practice of the transcendental meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine, 46, 267–276.
Banquet, J.P. (1973). Spectral analysis of the EEG in meditation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neuro-physiology, 35, 143–151.
Bennett, J.E., & Trinder, J. (1977). Hemispheric laterality and cognitive style associated with transcendental meditation. Psychophysiology, 14, 293–296.
Benson, H. (1976). The relaxation response. New York: Morrow.
Corby, J.C., Roth, W.L., Zarcone, V.P., & Kopell, B.S. (1978). Psychophysiological correlates of the practice of Tantric Yoga mediation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 571–577.
Davidson, R.S., Chapman, J.P., Chapman, L.J., & Henriques, J.B. (1990). Asymmetrical brain electrical activity discriminates between psychometrically-matched verbal and spatial cognitive tasks. Psvchophvsiologv, 27, 528–543.
Delmonte, M.M. (1984). Electrocortical activity and related phenomena associated with meditation practice: A literature review. International Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 217–231.
Delmonte, M.M. (1985). Meditation and anxiety reduction: A literature reviews. Clinical Psychology Review, 5, 91–102.
Dillbeck, M.C., & Bronson, E.C. (1981). Short-term longitudinal effects of the transcendental meditation technique on EEG power and coherence. International Journal of Neuroscience, 14, 147–151.
Doyle, J.C., Ornstein, R.E., & Galin, D. (1974). Lateral specialization of cognitive mode II: EEG frequency analysis. Psychophysiology, 11, 567–578.
Dunn, B.R., Dunn, D.A., Languis, M., & Andrews, D. (1998). The relation of ERP components to complex memory processing. Brain and Cognition, 36, 355–376.
Dunn, B.R., & Reddix, M.D. (1991). Modal processing style differences in the recall of expository text and poetry, Learning and Individual Differences, 3(4), 265–293.
Farthing, G.W. (1992). The psychology of consciousness. Englewood Cliffs N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Feddon, J.S. (1996). Attentional differences in meditation: An ERP study. Unpublished master's thesis, The University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL.
Fenwick, P.B.C, Donaldson, S., Gillis, L., Bushman, J., Fenton, G.W., Perry, I., Tilsley, C., & Serafinowicz, H. (1977). Metabolic and EEG changes during transcendental meditation: An explanation. Biological Psychol-ogy, 5, 101–118.
Fried, R. (1987). Relaxation with biofeedback-assisted guided imagery: The importance of breathing rate as an index of hypoarousal. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, 12, 273–279.
Gardner, E. (1975). Fundamentals of neurology. Philadelphia,PA: W.B. Saunders Company.
Goleman, D. (1988). The meditative mind. Los Angeles: Tarcher.
Hewitt, J. (1982). The complete relaxation book. London: Rider.
Jasper, J.J. (1958). The ten/twenty electrode system of the international federation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 10, 371–375.
Kutas, M. (1993). In the company of other words: Electrophysiological evidence for single-word and sentence context effect. Language and Cognitive Processes, 8, 533–572.
McCarthy, G., & Wood, C.C. (1985). Scalp distributions of event-related potentials: An ambiguity associated with analysis of variance models. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 62, 203–208.
Mikulas, W.L. (1987). The way beyond. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House.
Mikulas, W.L. (1990). Mindfulness,self-control,and personal growth. In M.G.T. Kwee (Ed.), Psychotherapy, meditation,and health (pp.151–164). London: East-West Publications.
Murphy, M., & Donovan, S. (1997). The physical and psychological effects of meditation (2nd ed.). Sausalito, CA: Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Oldlield, R. (1971). The assessment and analysis of handedness: The Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Neuropsy-chologia, 9, 97–113.
Shapiro, D.H. (1982). Overview: Clinical and physiological comparison of meditation with other self-control strategies. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 267–274.
Shapiro, Jr., D.H., & Walsh, R.N. (Eds.). (1984). Meditation:Classic and contemporary perspectives. New York: Aldine.
Smith, J.C. (1985). Relaxation dynamics. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
Stigsby, B., Rodenberg, J.C., & Moth, H.B. (1981). Electroencephalographic findings during mantra meditation (transcendental meditation).A controlled, quantitative study of experienced meditators. Electroencephalog-raphy and Clinical Neurophysiology, 51, 434–442.
Tart, C.T. (1970). Measuring the depth of an altered state of consciousness, with particular reference to self-report scales of hypnotic depth. In E. Fromm & R.E. Shor (Eds.), Hypnosis:Developments in research and new perspectives (pp.567–601). New York: Aldine.
Travis, T.A., Kondo, C.Y., & Knott, J.R. (1976). Heart rate, muscle tension, and alpha production of transcendental meditators and relaxation controls. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation, 1, 387–394.
Wallace, R.K., & Benson, H. (1972). The physiology of meditation. Scientific American, 226, 885–890.
Wallace, R.K., Benson, H., & Wilson, A.F. (1971). A wakeful hypometabolic physiologic state. American Journal of Physiology, 221, 795–799.
West, M.A. (Ed.). (1987). The psychology of meditation. Oxford, England: Claredon Press.
Wood, S.E., & Wood, E.G. (1996). The world of psychology (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn &Bacon.
Younger, J., Adriance, W., & Berger, R.J. (1975). Sleep during transcendental meditation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 40, 953–954.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dunn, B.R., Hartigan, J.A. & Mikulas, W.L. Concentration and Mindfulness Meditations: Unique Forms of Consciousness?. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 24, 147–165 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023498629385
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023498629385