Decoding Depth of Meditation: EEG Insights from Expert Vipassana Practitioners
Reggente, N.1, Kothe, C.2, Nath, M.1, Brandmeyer, T. 1,3, Hanada, G. 1,3, Simonian, N.1,3, Mullen, S. 1,3, Mullen, T. 1,3
1Institute For Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA | 2Intheon, San Diego, CA, USA | 2BrainMind, San Francisco, CA, USA
PrePrint: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/7c3er
Quick Summary
We decoded self-reported meditative depth across two sessions ( > 1 week between) in expert Vipassana practitioners (n=34) using source-localized EEG in theta, alpha, and gamma bands along with Heart Evoked Potential amplitudes. Conventional EEG channel-level methods and a priori chosen brain regions failed to capture the complex, non-linear neural dynamics associated with varying meditation depths. We also introduce “spontaneous emergence” as an ecologically valid phenomenological sampling method, creating potential for multivariate, personalized neurofeedback.