Changes in the Electrical Activity of the Brain in the Alpha and Theta Bands during Prayer and Meditation

Abstract

Focused attention meditation (FAM) is a category of meditation based on an EEG pattern, which helps the wandering mind to focus on a particular object. It seems that prayer may, in certain respects, be similar to FAM. It is believed that emotional experience correlates mainly with theta, but also with selective alpha, with internalized attention correlating mainly with the synchronous activity of theta and alpha. The vast majority of studies indicate a possible impact of transcendence in meditation on the alpha wave in EEG. No such reports are available for prayer. Seventeen women and nineteen men aged 27–64 years with at least five years of intensive meditation/prayer experience were recruited to participate in the study. We identified the two largest groups which remained in the meditation trend originating from the Buddhist system (14 people) (Buddhist meditators) and in the Christian-based faith (15 people) (Christian meditators). EEG signal was recorded with open eyes, closed eyes, during meditation/prayer, and relaxation. After the EEG recording, an examination was conducted using the Scale of Spiritual Transcendence. Buddhist meditators exhibited a statistically significantly higher theta amplitude at Cz during meditation compared to relaxation. Meanwhile, spiritual openness favored a higher theta amplitude at Pz during relaxation. Our study did not reveal statistically significant differences in frontal areas with regard to alpha and theta, which was often indicated in previous studies. It seems necessary to analyze more closely the midline activity in terms of dispersed neural activity integration.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Trapezius Muscle EMG Activity in Relation to Stress and Meditation

“…With meditation, a slowing of brain activity is observed with decreased hemispheric asymmetry. Prior research has found that effective meditation led to slowed down synchronous alpha activity with an overall shift towards the parasympathetic system [50]. The stress segment in this study increased both the beta and alpha band powers as expected, with an increase in hemispheric asymmetry.…”

Focused-Attention Meditation Improves Flow, Communication Skills, and Safety Attitudes of Surgeons

“…By aversive, we refer to emotional states experienced as aversive, while pleasant refers to the opposite. In other words, meditation can reduce aversive feelings by developing mental habits that reduce this amplification and catastrophizing process, and this in itself may be one of the most important beneficial mechanisms through which FAM relieves mood and stress [14,15].…”

“…In summary, communication, work stress, and job satisfaction are important factors influencing safety attitudes [44]. FAM can help relieve stress, regulate mood, and reduce work stress [14,15]. Improved concentration makes surgeons more focused on the work at hand, less likely to be distracted, more likely to enter the state of flow, experience pleasure, and, thus, improve job satisfaction.…”

Psicología en el siglo XXI

“…La integración entre los dos mundos, ya perfilada desde la presentación del caso de Leborgne, fue adquiriendo forma y nutriéndose de una constelación de evidencias provenientes principalmente de la neuroimagenología, traspasando las fronteras del lenguaje y llegando a terrenos como el de la adopción de decisiones (Camerer & Mobbs, 2017; Ramakrishnan & Murthy, 2013), los estilos cognoscitivos (Hao, et al, 2014;Miller, et al, 2012), la ejecución de tareas mentales (Nishimura, et al, 2020), sentimientos como el amor (Zeki, 2007), el odio (Zeki & Romaya, 2008) o el remordimiento (Duan, et al, 2020;Takahashi, et al, 2004), aspectos como la religiosidad o espiritualidad (Dobrakowski, et al, 2020;Bouso, et al, 2015), la empatía (Weisz & Zaki, 2018;Bernhardt & Singer, 2012), la imaginación (Fulford, et al, 2018), la ética y la moral (Eslinger, et al, 2009;Moll, et al, 2002), y la autoconsciencia (Lou, et al, 2017;Hameroff, 2001).…”