The mindful brain at rest: neural oscillations and aperiodic activity in experienced meditators

Abstract

ObjectivesPrevious research has demonstrated that mindfulness meditation is associated with a variety of benefits, including improved mental health. Researchers have suggested these benefits may be underpinned by differences in neural oscillations. However, previous studies measuring neural oscillations have not controlled for non-oscillatory neural activity, the power spectrum of which follows a 1/f distribution and contributes to power measurements within oscillation frequencies of interest. In this study, we applied recently developed methods to determine if past findings related to neural oscillations in meditation are present even after controlling for non-oscillatory 1/f activity. Methods48 experienced meditators and 44 non-meditators provided resting electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. Whole scalp EEG comparisons (topographical ANOVAs) were used to test for differences between meditators and non-meditators in the distribution or global power of activity for theta, alpha, beta, and gamma oscillations, and for the 1/f components slope and intercept. ResultsResults indicated that meditators showed differences in theta, alpha, and gamma oscillatory power compared to non-meditators (all p < 0.05). Post-hoc testing suggested that the oscillatory differences were primarily driven by differences in the distribution of neural activity between meditators and non-meditators, rather than differences in the overall power across all scalp electrodes. ConclusionOur results suggest that experience with meditation is associated with higher oscillatory power and altered distributions of theta, alpha and gamma oscillations, even after controlling for non-oscillatory 1/f activity. Band-specific differences in oscillatory activity may be a mechanism through which meditation leads to neurophysiological benefits.