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Intracerebral source generators characterizing concentrative meditation

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Abstract

Previous researchers have studied meditation practices as a means to understand consciousness as well as altered states of consciousness. Various meditation techniques, such as Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Qigong, have been explored with source localization tools; however, the concentrative meditation technique has yet to be fully studied in this manner. The current study demonstrates findings, which outline differential activation in a self-referential default network during meditation in participants who espouse themselves as regular concentrative meditation practitioners, as well as comparisons with a control group practicing a modified version of the relaxation response. The results are compared with other putative experimental findings employing other meditation techniques, and the findings outlined in the current study are discussed with respect to changes in perceptual awareness often reported by meditators.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the continued support and insight from the Neuroscience Research Group (NRG) at Laurentian University. C.F.L. would like to acknowledge and thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for funding a portion of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada

    Christina F. Lavallee & Michael A. Persinger

  2. Biology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada

    Mathew D. Hunter

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  1. Christina F. Lavallee
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  2. Mathew D. Hunter
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  3. Michael A. Persinger
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Correspondence to Christina F. Lavallee.

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Lavallee, C.F., Hunter, M.D. & Persinger, M.A. Intracerebral source generators characterizing concentrative meditation. Cogn Process 12, 141–150 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-011-0394-z

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