Patterns of EEG coherence, power, and contingent negative variation characterize the integration of transcendental and waking states.

Full Abstract

Long-term meditating subjects report that transcendental experiences (TE), which first occurred during their Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice, now subjectively co-exist with waking and sleeping states. To investigate neurophysiological correlates of this integrated state, we recorded EEG in these subjects and in two comparison groups during simple and choice contingent negative variation (CNV) tasks. In individuals reporting the integration of the transcendent with waking and sleeping, CNV was higher in simple but lower in choice trials, and 6-12 Hz EEG amplitude and broadband frontal EEG coherence were higher during choice trials. Increased EEG amplitude and coherence, characteristic of TM practice, appeared to become a stable EEG trait during CNV tasks in these subjects. These significant EEG differences may underlie the inverse patterns in CNV amplitude seen between groups. An 'Integration Scale,' constructed from these cortical measures, may characterize the transformation in brain dynamics corresponding to increasing integration of the transcendent with waking and sleeping.

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Author information

Author/s: Travis, Fred (F); Tecce, Joe (J); Arenander, Alarik (A); Wallace, R Keith (RK);

Affiliation: Institute for Research in Higher States of Consciousness, Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA 52557, USA. ftravis(-atsign-)mum.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Biological psychology (Biol Psychol), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Nov; vol 61 (issue 3) : pp 293-319

Dates: Created 2002/10/30; Completed 2003/03/21; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12406612, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Meditation
Reaction Time
Sleep - physiology
Visual Perception - physiology
Wakefulness - physiology

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