The DOI matches its Crossref record; 33 of the 34 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice
Open accessAbstract
Practitioners understand “meditation,” or mental training, to be a process of familiarization with one's own mental life leading to long-lasting changes in cognition and emotion. Little is known about this process and its impact on the brain. Here we find that long-term Buddhist practitioners self-induce sustained electroencephalographic high-amplitude gamma-band oscillations and phase-synchrony during meditation. These electroencephalogram patterns differ from those of controls, in particular over lateral frontoparietal electrodes. In addition, the ratio of gamma-band activity (25-42 Hz) to slow oscillatory activity (4-13 Hz) is initially higher in the resting baseline before meditation for the practitioners than the controls over medial frontoparietal electrodes. This difference increases sharply during meditation over most of the scalp electrodes and remains higher than the initial baseline in the postmeditation baseline. These data suggest that mental training involves temporal integrative mechanisms and may induce short-term and long-term neural changes.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Lutz et al. [16] found increased gamma over frontolateral and posterior electrodes in non-referential, objectless compassion meditation”
From Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“As such, our study contrasts with other EEG studies finding state effects in the EEG power spectrum in various meditation practices [16–18, 72].”
From Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“Following the finding by Lutz et al. [16] of a meditation state effect on the higher over lower frequencies ratio”
From Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions (2017) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“It is concluded that meditation may improve detection ability, monitor immediate ventilatory needs and respiratory load, improve mental acuity, promote patients' active participation in daily life activities, and achieve better self-care management of disease for anxious patients with COPD.31–33”
From The efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for patients with COPD: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol (2019) · cites this paper as [33]
In the citing paper
“It may be noted that Tibetan monk meditators have been found to have 80 Hz gamma synchrony, and perhaps more intense experience [143].”
From Consciousness in the universe (2014) · cites this paper as [143]
In the citing paper
“Functional connectivity studies of meditation have indicated increased connectivity between anterior and posterior nodes of the DMN at rest123,124 and during meditation125,126 in experienced meditators with 10,000 h of practice but not following 8 weeks of training,127”
From Awakening is not a metaphor: the effects of Buddhist meditation practices on basic wakefulness (2014) · cites this paper as [124]
In the citing paper
“Other studies have reported higher baseline (trait) and state-related increases in gamma power in long-term Tibetan Buddhist practitioners,124 Vipassana meditators,146 as well as meditators in other traditions,150 which are indicative of a more highly alert and aware brain state.”
From Awakening is not a metaphor: the effects of Buddhist meditation practices on basic wakefulness (2014) · cites this paper as [124]
Citations
Cites
Welch, P. D. (1967) · IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics · doi:10.1109/tau.1967.1161901 · Cited by 12,363
The Organization of Behavior; A Neuropsychological Theory.
Attneave, F., B., M., & Hebb, D. O. (1950) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1418888 · Cited by 5,146
The brainweb: phase synchronization and large-scale integration
Varela, F., Lachaux, J.-P., Rodriguez, E., & Martinerie, J. (2001) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/35067550 · Cited by 4,761
(2001) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511546396 · Cited by 4,482
Searching for a baseline: Functional imaging and the resting human brain
Gusnard, D. A., & Raichle, M. E. (2001) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/35094500 · Cited by 3,371
Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3 · Cited by 2,925
Self-citationModulation of Oscillatory Neuronal Synchronization by Selective Visual Attention
Fries, P., Reynolds, J. H., Rorie, A. E., & Desimone, R. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1055465 · Cited by 2,786
Spherical splines for scalp potential and current density mapping
Perrin, F., Pernier, J., Bertrand, O., & Echallier, J. F. (1989) · Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/0013-4694(89)90180-6 · Cited by 2,706
Neuronal Synchrony: A Versatile Code for the Definition of Relations?
Singer, W. (1999) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80821-1 · Cited by 2,581
Perception's shadow: long-distance synchronization of human brain activity
Rodriguez, E., George, N., Lachaux, J.-P., Martinerie, J., Renault, B., & Varela, F. J. (1999) · Nature · doi:10.1038/17120 · Cited by 1,915
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 34 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Lutz, A. & Thompson, E. (2003) J. Conscious. Stud. 10, 31-52.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Mechanisms of Gamma Oscillations
Buzsáki, G., & Wang, X.-J. (2012) · Annual Review of Neuroscience · doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-062111-150444 · Cited by 2,796
Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation
Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005 · Cited by 2,659
Self-citationMeditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies.
Cahn, B. R., & Polich, J. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.2.180 · Cited by 1,734
“…and novices who practiced the method for just 1 week were compared while engaged in three separate techniques: one-pointed concentration on an object, attention without object, and a state of nonreferential love and compassion (Lutz et al., 2004; Lutz, Greischar, Ricard, & Davidson, 2003).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMeditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness
Lazar, S. W., Kerr, C. E., Wasserman, R. H., Gray, J. R., Greve, D. N., Treadway, M. T., McGarvey, M., Quinn, B. T., Dusek, J. A., Benson, H., et al. (2005) · NeuroReport · doi:10.1097/01.wnr.0000186598.66243.19 · Cited by 1,698
“Regular practice of meditation is reported to produce changes in mental state and resting electroencephalogram patterns that persist beyond the timeperiod of active practice [1].”
BackgroundMindful emotion regulation: an integrative review
Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.06.005 · Cited by 1,360
The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision
Capra, F., & Luisi, P. L. (2014) · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511895555 · Cited by 1,347
Self‐Compassion Versus Global Self‐Esteem: Two Different Ways of Relating to Oneself
Neff, K. D., & Vonk, R. (2008) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00537.x · Cited by 1,258
“Lutz, Greischar, Rawlings, Ricard, and Davidson (2004) have found that compassion for self and others is linked to higher levels of brain activation in the left prefrontal cortex, a region associated with joy and exuberance.”
BackgroundNeff, K. D., Rude, S. S., & Kirkpatrick, K. L. (2007) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.08.002 · Cited by 1,224
“In fact, feelings of compassion for self and others have been linked to higher levels of brain activation in the left prefrontal cortex, a region associated with joy and optimism ( Lutz, Greischar, Rawlings, Ricard, & Davidson, 2004 ).”
BackgroundMeditation, mindfulness and cognitive flexibility
Moore, A., & Malinowski, P. (2009) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2008.12.008 · Cited by 1,220
Nonlinear multivariate analysis of neurophysiological signals
Pereda, E., Quiroga, R. Q., & Bhattacharya, J. (2005) · Progress in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2005.10.003 · Cited by 1,066
“A recent study has confirmed the influence of training on gamma band PS (Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundGarland, E. L., Fredrickson, B., Kring, A. M., Johnson, D. P., Meyer, P. S., & Penn, D. L. (2010) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.002 · Cited by 1,035
Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners
Brefczynski-Lewis, J. A., Lutz, A., Schaefer, H. S., Levinson, D. B., & Davidson, R. J. (2007) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0606552104 · Cited by 983
Self-citationHameroff, S., & Penrose, R. (2014) · Physics of Life Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2013.08.002 · Cited by 983
“Quantum-mechanically (so long as OR has not taken place), the ‘physical reality’ of this situation, as provided by the evolving wavefunction, is being illustrated as an actual superposition of these two slightly differing space–time manifolds, as indicated on the right of Fig.”
BackgroundFears of compassion: Development of three self‐report measures
Gilbert, P., McEwan, K., Matos, M., & Rivis, A. (2011) · Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice · doi:10.1348/147608310x526511 · Cited by 973
Ludwig, D. S. (2008) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.300.11.1350 · Cited by 957
“These may include (1) decreased perception of pain severity; (2) increased ability to tolerate pain or disability; (3) reduced stress, anxiety, or depression; (4) diminished usage of, and thereby reduced adverse effects from analgesic, anxiolytic, or antidepressant medication; (5) enhanced ability to reflect on choice…”
BackgroundLutz, A., Brefczynski-Lewis, J., Johnstone, T., & Davidson, R. J. (2008) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001897 · Cited by 942
“recorded from the same group of long-term meditators during the same meditation [3].”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationSocial influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being
Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn.3093 · Cited by 892
Self-citationReconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice
Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2015) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.07.001 · Cited by 809
Self-citationConceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation.
Davidson, R. J., & Kaszniak, A. W. (2015) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/a0039512 · Cited by 773
“Consequently, most studies examining meditation training/practice duration are cross-sectional, correlating practitioner length-of-training self-report and various behavioral and biological measures (e.g., Grant, Courtemanche, Duerden, Duncan, & Rainville, 2010; Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundSelf-citationPace, T. W. W., Negi, L. T., Adame, D. D., Cole, S. P., Sivilli, T. I., Brown, T. D., Issa, M. J., & Raison, C. L. (2009) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.08.011 · Cited by 748
“…the TSST. Interestingly in this regard, an association between practice time and physiological, behavioral or neural outcomes has been observed in the three prior published studies that have examined compassion-based meditation practices (Lutz et al., 2004; Carson et al., 2005; Lutz et al., 2008b).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources
Slagter, H. A., Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Francis, A. D., Nieuwenhuis, S., Davis, J. M., & Davidson, R. J. (2007) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050138 · Cited by 757
“On the basis of previous findings in expert meditators [6, 7 ], we hypothesized that 3 mo of intensive Vipassana”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationTypologies of attentional networks
Raz, A., & Buhle, J. (2006) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1903 · Cited by 706
“Extensive attention training, such as that seen in those that are experts at meditation, who can rapidly and volitionally invoke alternate attention profiles, could also permit exciting investigations of the regulation of actions and emotion”
BackgroundCentral and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation
Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Fan, Y., Feng, H., Wang, J., Feng, S., Lu, Q., Hu, B., Lin, Y., Li, J., et al. (2009) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0904031106 · Cited by 680
Mindfulness for Teachers: A Pilot Study to Assess Effects on Stress, Burnout, and Teaching Efficacy
Flook, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., Bonus, K., & Davidson, R. J. (2013) · Mind, Brain, and Education · doi:10.1111/mbe.12026 · Cited by 682
Self-citationThe meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue.
WALSH, R. N., & Shapiro, S. L. (2006) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.61.3.227 · Cited by 687
Mindfulness Meditation Training in Adults and Adolescents With ADHD: A Feasibility Study
Zylowska, L., Ackerman, D. L., Yang, M. H., Futrell, J. L., Horton, N. L., Hale, T. S., Pataki, C., & Smalley, S. L. (2008) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054707308502 · Cited by 674
Effects of Mindful Awareness Practices on Executive Functions in Elementary School Children
Flook, L., Smalley, S. L., Kitil, M. J., Galla, B. M., Greenland, S. K., Locke, J. J., Ishijima, E., & Kasari, C. L. (2010) · Journal of Applied School Psychology · doi:10.1080/15377900903379125 · Cited by 694
Clinical handbook of mindfulness
(2009) · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09593-6 · Cited by 543
Travis, F., & Shear, J. (2010) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2010.01.007 · Cited by 522
Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program
Jazaieri, H., Jinpa, T., McGonigal, K. M., Rosenberg, E. L., Finkelstein, J., Simon-Thomas, E. R., Cullen, M., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., & Goldin, P. R. (2012) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9373-z · Cited by 546
“…has been associated with decreased negative affect and stress responses, and also with increased positive affect, social connectedness, and kindness towards oneself and others (Fredrickson et al. 2008; Hutcherson et al. 2008; Lutz et al. 2008; Lutz et al. 2004; Pace et al. 2009; Pace et al. 2010).”
BackgroundJerath, R., Edry, J. W., Barnes, V. A., & Jerath, V. (2006) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2006.02.042 · Cited by 574
Fixing our focus: Training attention to regulate emotion
Wadlinger, H. A., & Isaacowitz, D. M. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868310365565 · Cited by 396
“Yet research that examines how meditative techniques influence attentional processes is limited (Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2007; Jha et al., 2007; Lutz et al., 2008a; Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundThe Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults
Ma, X., Yue, Z.-Q., Gong, Z.-Q., Zhang, H., Duan, N.-Y., Shi, Y.-T., Wei, G.-X., & Li, Y.-F. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874 · Cited by 509
“…physiological basis of attention and breathing can be detected in part in the autonomic nervous system of patients with ADHD (Beauchaine, 2001), but more evidence is provided by electroencephalographic (EEG) studies and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies (Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundColzato, L. S., Öztürk, A., & Hommel, B. (2012) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00116 · Cited by 428
“Future studies might include an originally naive control group practicing FA or OM meditation for some time, similarly to Lutz et al. (2004), which would allow testing whether self-selected practitioners differ systematically from “experimental” practitioners.”
Respiration-Entrained Brain Rhythms Are Global but Often Overlooked
Tort, A. B. L., Brankačk, J., & Draguhn, A. (2018) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2018.01.007 · Cited by 335
Effect of kindness-based meditation on health and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Galante, J., Galante, I., Bekkers, M.-J., & Gallacher, J. (2014) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0037249 · Cited by 380
Age effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation
Pagnoni, G., & Cekic, M. (2007) · Neurobiology of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.06.008 · Cited by 370
“…have received considerable ttention recently (Barinaga, 2003; Knight, 2004), for their otential phenomenological and epistemological contribuions to cognitive science (Varela et al., 1991) and as a ontext in which to investigate neural plasticity related to ental practice (Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundInfluentialBradley, R. T., Tomasino, D., Atkinson, M., & McCraty, R. (2009) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cited by 363
Dambrun, M., & Ricard, M. (2011) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0023059 · Cited by 390
Self-citationThe validation of an active control intervention for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
MacCoon, D. G., Imel, Z. E., Rosenkranz, M. A., Sheftel, J. G., Weng, H. Y., Sullivan, J. C., Bonus, K. A., Stoney, C. M., Salomons, T. V., Davidson, R. J., et al. (2012) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.10.011 · Cited by 335
Self-citationLevine, G. N., Lange, R. A., Bairey‐Merz, C. N., Davidson, R. J., Jamerson, K., Mehta, P. K., Michos, E. D., Norris, K., Ray, I. B., Saban, K. L., et al. (2017) · Journal of the American Heart Association · doi:10.1161/jaha.117.002218 · Cited by 330
“durable electroencephalographic changes, suggesting that the resting state of the brain may be altered by long-term meditative practices.(35) A brain magnetic resonance imaging study of experienced meditators found, when compared with age-matched controls, higher gray matter density in lower brainstem regions involved…”
BackgroundSelf-citationEffects of Brief and Sham Mindfulness Meditation on Mood and Cardiovascular Variables
Zeidan, F., Johnson, S. K., Gordon, N. S., & Goolkasian, P. (2010) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0321 · Cited by 319
Impact of meditation training on the default mode network during a restful state
Taylor, V. A., Daneault, V., Grant, J., Scavone, G., Breton, E., Roffe-Vidal, S., Courtemanche, J., Lavarenne, A. S., Marrelec, G., Benali, H., et al. (2013) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsr087 · Cited by 307
Kriger, M. P., & Seng, Y. (2005) · The Leadership Quarterly · doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.07.007 · Cited by 322
Moore, A., Gruber, T., Derose, J., & Malinowski, P. (2012) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2012.00018 · Cited by 351
“HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE published: 10 February 2012 doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00018 Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control”
BackgroundInfluentialKann, O., Papageorgiou, I. E., & Draguhn, A. (2014) · Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism · doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2014.104 · Cited by 295
Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., & Goldstein, A. (2012) · Clinical Neurophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2011.07.048 · Cited by 298
“Another study which tested the correlation between the total hours of formal meditation and overall gamma power in eight long-term practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism reported a positive correlation coefficient, which did not, however, reach significance (Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundMelbourne Academic Mindfulness Interest Group, & Melbourne Academic Mindfulness Interest Group (2006) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01794.x · Cited by 382
Turk, D. C., Swanson, K. S., & Tunks, E. R. (2008) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674370805300402 · Cited by 298
“In part, this is due to experienced meditators demonstrating reduced arousal to daily stress, better performance of tasks that require focused attention, and other health benefits.(46,47) Lazar et al(46) found that long-term meditation in Western practitioners showed increased cortical thickness in areas related to so…”
BackgroundOccipital gamma activation during Vipassana meditation
Cahn, B. R., Delorme, A., & Polich, J. (2010) · Cognitive Processing · doi:10.1007/s10339-009-0352-1 · Cited by 300
“1961b; Banquet 1973; Das and Gastaut 1957), although a few more recent meditation gamma findings have been reported as well (Aftanas and Golosheykin 2005; Lehmann et al. 2001; Lutz et al. 2004).”
InfluentialBuddhist and psychological perspectives on emotions and well-being
Ekman, P., Davidson, R. J., Ricard, M., & Alan Wallace, B. (2005) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00335.x · Cited by 295
Self-citationThe neurobiology of meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders
Rubia, K. (2009) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.04.003 · Cited by 287
“This study showed enhanced high-amplitude gamma activity in eight experienced Buddhist practitioners compared to novices (Lutz et al., 2004).”
InfluentialMindfulness: What Is It? Where Did It Come From?
Siegel, R. D., Germer, C. K., & Olendzki, A. (2009) · Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09593-6_2 · Cited by 297
Buddha's Brain: Neuroplasticity and Meditation [In the Spotlight]
Davidson, R. J., & Lutz, A. (2008) · IEEE Signal Processing Magazine · doi:10.1109/msp.2008.4431873 · Cited by 292
“(d)–(e) Example of high-amplitude gamma activity during a form of OM meditation, nonreferential compassion meditation, in long-term Buddhist practitioners [6].”
BackgroundSelf-citationMental Training as a Tool in the Neuroscientific Study of Brain and Cognitive Plasticity
Slagter, H. A., Davidson, R. J., & Lutz, A. (2011) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2011.00017 · Cited by 288
Self-citationThe psychological and neurophysiological concomitants of mindfulness forms of meditation
Ivanovski, B., & Malhi, G. S. (2007) · Acta Neuropsychiatrica · doi:10.1111/j.1601-5215.2007.00175.x · Cited by 284
Using wellbeing for public policy: Theory, measurement, and recommendations
Adler, A., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2016) · International Journal of Wellbeing · doi:10.5502/ijw.v6i1.429 · Cited by 330
The interneuron energy hypothesis: Implications for brain disease
Kann, O. (2015) · Neurobiology of Disease · doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2015.08.005 · Cited by 270
“In the human brain and dependent on the task, however, they can last for prolonged times in the range of minutes (Lehmann et al., 2001; Lutz et al., 2004).”
BackgroundMeditation alters perceptual rivalry in Tibetan Buddhist monks
Carter, O. L., Presti, D. E., Callistemon, C., Ungerer, Y., Liu, G. B., & Pettigrew, J. D. (2005) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.05.043 · Cited by 262
“Furthermore, the reported association between ‘focused’ styles of meditation and changes in neural activity in prefrontal regions of the cortex [ 7 ,8] — regions that have been similarly implicated in sustained attentional [9] and binocular rivalry [10] — supports claims of high-level, top-down modulatory effects in p…”
BackgroundResultIncreased default mode network connectivity associated with meditation
Jang, J. H., Jung, W. H., Kang, D.-H., Byun, M. S., Kwon, S. J., Choi, C.-H., & Kwon, J. S. (2011) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2010.10.056 · Cited by 260
Waters, L. E., Barsky, A. P., Ridd, A., & Allen, K. (2014) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-014-9258-2 · Cited by 298
“…brain wave amplitude and frequencies at the theta, alpha and gamma levels as reported in EEG studies, which support the finding that meditation is an effective attention training tool that develops neurological faculties supporting sustained attention (Kjaer et al. 2002; Lutz et al. 2004).”
BackgroundThe plasticity of well-being: A training-based framework for the cultivation of human flourishing
Dahl, C. J., Wilson‐Mendenhall, C. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2014859117 · Cited by 295
Self-citationExplorations into the nature and function of compassion
Gilbert, P. (2019) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.002 · Cited by 250
Review of the Neural Oscillations Underlying Meditation
Lee, D. J., Kulubya, E. S., Goldin, P. R., Goodarzi, A., & Girgis, F. (2018) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00178 · Cited by 266
“In contrast to theta and alpha coherence, there is evidence for increased gamma oscillation coherence in the parieto-occipital regions during Vipassana and in the fronto-parietal regions in Buddhist practitioners (Lutz et al., 2004; Cahn et al., 2013).”
BackgroundSingh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S. W., Singh, J., Curtis, W. J., Wahler, R. G., & McAleavey, K. M. (2007) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/0145445507300924 · Cited by 306
Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem
Vestergaard-Poulsen, P., van Beek, M., Skewes, J., Bjarkam, C. R., Stubberup, M., Bertelsen, J., & Roepstorff, A. (2009) · NeuroReport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0b013e328320012a · Cited by 235
Increased Gamma Brainwave Amplitude Compared to Control in Three Different Meditation Traditions
Braboszcz, C., Cahn, B. R., Levy, J., Fernandez, M., & Delorme, A. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0170647 · Cited by 225
“[16] of a meditation state effect on the higher over lower frequencies ratio, we computed the ratio of spectral power between the 60–110 Hz range and the 2–11 Hz range for each group.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialNeural correlates of nondual awareness in meditation
Josipovic, Z. (2014) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.12261 · Cited by 226
Training attentional control and working memory – Is younger, better?
Wass, S. V., Scerif, G., & Johnson, M. H. (2012) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2012.07.001 · Cited by 265
Learning to modulate one’s own brain activity: The effect of spontaneous mental strategies
Kober, S. E., Witte, M., Ninaus, M., Neuper, C., & Wood, G. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00695 · Cited by 225
“Studies on meditators showed that Gamma power was intensified during meditation, and that Gamma is apparently associated with feelings of kindness and compassion (Banquet, 1973; Lutz et al., 2004; Rubik, 2011).”
BackgroundImportance of Empathy for Social Work Practice: Integrating New Science
Gerdes, K. E., & Segal, E. (2011) · Social Work · doi:10.1093/sw/56.2.141 · Cited by 239
Meditation and the neuroscience of consciousness: an introduction
Lutz, A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2007) · The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511816789.020 · Cited by 485
“In our study (Lutz et al., 2004), we further showed that during this objectless meditation the ratio of fast-frequency activity”
BackgroundSelf-citationVettese, L. C., Dyer, C. E., Li, W. L., & Wekerle, C. (2011) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-011-9340-7 · Cited by 228
“Neurological research suggests that self-compassion is associated with increased joy and optimism through the stimulation of pathways within the left prefrontal cortex (Lutz et al. 2004).”
BackgroundEffect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials
Fincham, G. W., Strauss, C., Montero-Marin, J., & Cavanagh, K. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-27247-y · Cited by 224
The Spiritual Brain: Selective Cortical Lesions Modulate Human Self-Transcendence
Urgesi, C., Aglioti, S. M., Škrap, M., & Fabbro, F. (2010) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.01.026 · Cited by 222
Surge of neurophysiological coherence and connectivity in the dying brain
Borjigin, J., Lee, U., Liu, T., Pal, D., Huff, S., Klarr, D., Sloboda, J., Hernandez, J., Wang, M. M., & Mashour, G. A. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1308285110 · Cited by 239
“T human brain possesses the capacity to generate internal states of consciousness during dreaming (1), hallucinations (2, 3), and meditation (4).”
BackgroundQuach, D., Jastrowski Mano, K. E., & Alexander, K. (2016) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.09.024 · Cited by 213
“Research has shown that mindfulness exercises, specifically mindfulness meditation, have a direct effect on higher-order cognitive processes, such as executive functioning [14,15].”
BackgroundResilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges
Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2012) · Cited by 212
Witkiewitz, K., Lustyk, M. K. B., & Bowen, S. (2013) · Psychology of Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1037/a0029258 · Cited by 207
“…mindfulness practitioners (e.g., Farb et al., 2010; Kilpatrick et al., 2011; Tang et al., 2010) and experienced mindfulness practitioners (e.g., Luders, Toga, Lepore, & Gaser, 2009; Lutz et al., 2004) show structural and functional neurobiological differences, in comparison to non-meditators.”
BackgroundValidation of ICA-based myogenic artifact correction for scalp and source-localized EEG
McMenamin, B. W., Shackman, A. J., Maxwell, J. S., Bachhuber, D. R. W., Koppenhaver, A. M., Greischar, L. L., & Davidson, R. J. (2009) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.10.010 · Cited by 214
“Thus, while useful for investigations of tonic (“resting”) and induced changes in the EEG spectra (e.g., Lutz et al., 2004), GLM-based tools cannot be applied to studies relying on eventrelated spectral perturbation (ERSP) measures (Onton et al., 2006).”
Self-citationPain Sensitivity and Analgesic Effects of Mindful States in Zen Meditators: A Cross-Sectional Study
Grant, J. A., & Rainville, P. (2009) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e31818f52ee · Cited by 209
“This is in line with other studies linking meditation training with mindfulness, medical symptoms, and well-being (16); attention performance, anxiety, depression, anger, cortisol and immunoreactivity (34); an inverted U-shaped function of attention-related brain activity (35); electrophysiological markers of positive…”
BackgroundResultYoga Breathing, Meditation, and Longevity
Brown, R. P., & Gerbarg, P. L. (2009) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04394.x · Cited by 282
Differential effects on pain intensity and unpleasantness of two meditation practices.
Perlman, D. M., Salomons, T. V., Davidson, R. J., & Lutz, A. (2010) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0018440 · Cited by 202
“The strong effect seen for OM described above, as well as our previous findings with many of the same participants (e.g. Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2007; Lutz et al., 2004) argue against this possibility; however, it could still be that the experts were more skilled in OM than FA.”
ResultSelf-citationJacob, J. C., Jovic, E., & Brinkerhoff, M. B. (2008) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-008-9308-6 · Cited by 199
“Consistent meditative practice has been shown to alter measurable brain functioning ( Lutz et al. 2004; Davidson 2005), which 276 J. Jacob et al.”
BackgroundOxytocin enhances inter-brain synchrony during social coordination in male adults
Mu, Y., Guo, C., & Han, S. (2016) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsw106 · Cited by 177
“90Similar to the previous studies (Lachaux et al., 1999; Gross et al., 2004; Lutz et al., 2004; Doesburg et al., 2008), we used the same Morlet wavelet transform to estimate the inter-brain phase synchrony in the alpha band.”
MethodZeller, M., Yuval, K., Nitzan-Assayag, Y., & Bernstein, A. (2015) · Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10802-014-9937-y · Cited by 185
“…Study A number of controlled laboratory studies have begun to test the effects of experimentally manipulating compassion and SC (i.e., via Loving Kindness Meditation or Compassion Meditation) on a variety of affective, social and neural outcomes (Hutcherson et al. 2008; Lutz et al. 2004, 2008).”
BackgroundNewberg, A. B., Wintering, N., Khalsa, D. S., Roggenkamp, H., & Waldman, M. R. (2010) · Journal of Alzheimer s Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-2010-1391 · Cited by 179
From alpha to gamma: Electrophysiological correlates of meditation-related states of consciousness
Fell, J., Axmacher, N., & Haupt, S. (2010) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2010.02.025 · Cited by 200
“The other study concentrated on a meditation of non-referential compassion [67].”
BackgroundAmihai, I., & Kozhevnikov, M. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102990 · Cited by 173
“For instance, [12] found increased Gamma synchronization during loving-kindness meditation, which they interpreted to mean that neurons become more synchronized when meditators engage in this type of meditation (see also [89]).”
BackgroundThe Enhancement of Visuospatial Processing Efficiency Through Buddhist Deity Meditation
Kozhevnikov, M., Louchakova, O., Josipovic, Z., & Motes, M. A. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02345.x · Cited by 170
The Neural Correlates of Religious and Nonreligious Belief
Harris, S., Kaplan, J., Curiel, A., Bookheimer, S. Y., Iacoboni, M., & Cohen, M. S. (2009) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007272 · Cited by 174
“There have been a number of neuroimaging and EEG studies done on religious practice and experience—primarily focusing on meditation [20,21,22,23,24] and prayer [25,26,27,28,29,30].”
BackgroundThe Neuropsychological Connection Between Creativity and Meditation
Horan, R. (2009) · Creativity Research Journal · doi:10.1080/10400410902858691 · Cited by 172
“The investigators suggest gamma band synchrony ‘‘could reflect a change in the quality of moment-to-moment awareness, as claimed by the Buddhist practitioners and as postulated by many models of consciousness’’ (Lutz et al., 2004, p. 16373).”
BackgroundInfluentialImprovement in physiological and psychological parameters after 6months of yoga practice
Rocha, K. K. F., Ribeiro, A. M., Rocha, K. C. F., Sousa, M. B. C., Albuquerque, F. S., Ribeiro, S., & Silva, R. H. (2012) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.014 · Cited by 163
Josefsson, T., Ivarsson, A., Gustafsson, H., Stenling, A., Lindwall, M., Tornberg, R., & Böröy, J. (2019) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-019-01098-7 · Cited by 161
“…and processing in attention-related parts of the brain in experienced meditators (e.g., Brefczynski-Lewis et al. 2007; Cahn and Polich 2009; Lutz et al. 2004; Pagnoni and Cekic 2007) as well as superior performance on cognitive tasks for mindfulness meditation conditions compared to…”
Influence of meditation on anti-correlated networks in the brain
Josipovic, Z., Dinstein, I., Weber, J., & Heeger, D. J. (2012) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2011.00183 · Cited by 160
“For these reasons, and the following previous studies (Lutz et al., 2004; Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2007), we recruited participants with many years of experience in Tibetan Buddhist meditation, to maximize expertise and minimize individual differences.”
BackgroundQuantitative change of EEG and respiration signals during mindfulness meditation
Ahani, A., Wahbeh, H., Nezamfar, H., Miller, M., Erdogmus, D., & Oken, B. (2014) · Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-87 · Cited by 159
“Power spectral density (PSD) was estimated at different electrode sites (averaged electrodes at frontal, central, parietal, occipital, right temporal and left temporal regions; Figure 1) and for different frequency bands (theta [4-8) Hz, alpha [8-12) Hz and beta [12-30) Hz).”
BackgroundCardiorespiratory synchronization during Zen meditation.
Cysarz, D., & Büssing, A. (2005) · European Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1007/s00421-005-1379-3 · Cited by 154
“Hence, it may be possible that other physiological effects, for example, a specific signature in the electroencephalogram as a physiological representation of the state of mind (Lutz et al. 2004), are not attainable by first-time meditators.”
BackgroundHigh-frequency broadband modulation of electroencephalographic spectra
Onton, J. (2009) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/neuro.09.061.2009 · Cited by 155
Travis, F., Haaga, D. A. F., Hagelin, J., Tanner, M., Arenander, A., Nidich, S., Gaylord-King, C., Grosswald, S., Rainforth, M., & Schneider, R. H. (2010) · Cognitive Processing · doi:10.1007/s10339-009-0343-2 · Cited by 157
“While beta1 and gamma log-power were lower during TM practice, a 30-fold increase in gamma power and gamma synchrony have been reported during Tibetan Buddhism meditation (Lutz et al. 2004).”
BackgroundThe brain on silent: mind wandering, mindful awareness, and states of mental tranquility
Vago, D. R., & Zeidan, F. Z. (2016) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.13171 · Cited by 175
Metadata
- Authors
- Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Rawlings, N. B., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R. J.
- Affiliations
- W. M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, and Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53705; and Shechen Monastery, P.O. Box 136, Kathmandu, Nepal
- University of Wisconsin System (US)
- ORCID
- Davidson, Richard J.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2004-11-08
- Volume
- 101
- Issue
- 46
- Pages
- 16369-16373
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC526201
- OpenAlex
- W2165337576
- Cited by
- 1,328
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 58 · 2025: 62 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 83 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 87 · 2016: 80 · 2015: 70 · 2014: 85 · 2013: 69 · 2012: 70
- FWCI
- 34.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Mind and Life Institute
- Fondation Fyssen
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH061083)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Keywords
- meditation, long-term meditators, Buddhist meditation, gamma oscillations, phase synchronization, mental practice, frontoparietal cortex, neuroplasticity, temporal integration, EEG
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Electroencephalography, Humans, Middle Aged, Case-Control Studies, Meditation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
