Electroencephalographic Biomarkers of Relaxation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Alpha oscillations (8–13 Hz), which are prominent in human EEG, have long been considered a neural marker of relaxation. However, the extent to which different frequency bands and electrode positions of the EEG reflect relaxation remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the associations between EEG components and concurrently measured the reference indices of relaxation in healthy adults. A comprehensive database search and screening employing preset criteria identified 54 studies that involve 2569 participants published from January 1940 to March 2025 for qualitative synthesis. These studies utilized various reference relaxation measures, such as electrocardiographic (ECG) indices associated with parasympathetic nervous system activity and introspective indices obtained through questionnaires. Risks of bias were assessed based on the risk of bias assessment tool for nonrandomized studies. A meta-analysis of 31 studies employing a random-effects model revealed positive correlations between relaxation indices and the power of alpha oscillations in three specific combinations of EEG channel regions and reference index types: frontal channels with all reference indices, central channels with ECG-related indices, and occipital channels with questionnaire-based indices. No significant correlations were observed between relaxation indices and other EEG frequencies or channels. These findings indicate that alpha oscillations in different scalp regions may represent distinct aspects of the relaxation response based on the type of reference measure used.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Autonomic nervous system activity in emotion: a review
Kreibig, S. D. (2010) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.010 · Cited by 3,188 · see citing works
Regulation of the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenocortical Stress Response
Herman, J. P., McKlveen, J. M., Ghosal, S., Kopp, B., Wulsin, A., Makinson, R., Scheimann, J., & Myers, B. (2016) · Comprehensive Physiology · doi:10.1002/cphy.c150015 · Cited by 1,819 · see citing works
Appelbaum, M., Cooper, H., Kline, R. B., Mayo-Wilson, E., Nezu, A. M., & Rao, S. M. (2018) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/amp0000191 · Cited by 1,449 · see citing works
THE BERGER RHYTHM: POTENTIAL CHANGES FROM THE OCCIPITAL LOBES IN MAN
ADRIAN, E. D., & MATTHEWS, B. H. C. (1934) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/57.4.355 · Cited by 1,396 · see citing works
Declaración PRISMA 2020: una guía actualizada para la publicación de revisiones sistemáticas
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · Revista Española de Cardiología (English Edition) · doi:10.1016/j.rec.2021.07.010 · Cited by 1,313 · see citing works
Jain, S., Shapiro, S. L., Swanick, S., Roesch, S. C., Mills, P. J., Bell, I., & Schwartz, G. E. R. (2007) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15324796abm3301_2 · Cited by 1,300 · see citing works
Kim, S. Y., Park, J. E., Lee, Y. J., Seo, H.-J., Sheen, S.-S., Hahn, S., Jang, B.-H., & Son, H.-J. (2013) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2012.09.016 · Cited by 1,165 · see citing works
Using Neuroscience to Help Understand Fear and Anxiety: A Two-System Framework
LeDoux, J. E., & Pine, D. S. (2016) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16030353 · Cited by 1,035 · see citing works
Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B., & Gemignani, A. (2018) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353 · Cited by 820 · see citing works
Kelly, S. P., Lalor, E. C., Reilly, R. B., & Foxe, J. J. (2006) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.01234.2005 · Cited by 715 · see citing works
A higher-order theory of emotional consciousness
LeDoux, J. E., & Brown, R. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1619316114 · Cited by 690 · see citing works
Salivary cortisol: a better measure of adrenal cortical function than serum cortisol
Vining, R. F., McGinley, R. A., Maksvytis, J. J., & Ho, K. Y. (1983) · Annals of Clinical Biochemistry International Journal of Laboratory Medicine · doi:10.1177/000456328302000601 · Cited by 684 · see citing works
A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations
Lomas, T., Ivtzan, I., & Fu, C. H. Y. (2015) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.09.018 · Cited by 506 · see citing works
Kubota, Y., Sato, W., Toichi, M., Murai, T., Okada, T., Hayashi, A., & Sengoku, A. (2001) · Cognitive Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0926-6410(00)00086-0 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Tipton, E., & Pustejovsky, J. E. (2015) · Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics · doi:10.3102/1076998615606099 · Cited by 362 · see citing works
Methods of evaluation of autonomic nervous system function
Zygmunt, A., & Stanczyk, J. (2010) · Archives of Medical Science · doi:10.5114/aoms.2010.13500 · Cited by 346 · see citing works
Salivary Alpha-Amylase as a Biomarker of Stress in Behavioral Medicine
Ali, N., & Nater, U. M. (2020) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-019-09843-x · Cited by 304 · see citing works
The Amsterdam Resting-State Questionnaire reveals multiple phenotypes of resting-state cognition
Diaz, B. A., Van Der Sluis, S., Moens, S., Benjamins, J. S., Migliorati, F., Stoffers, D., Den Braber, A., Poil, S.-S., Hardstone, R., Van't Ent, D., et al. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00446 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
What is wrong with the no-report paradigm and how to fix it
Block, N. (2019) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2019.10.001 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Li, G., Huang, S., Xu, W., Jiao, W., Jiang, Y., Gao, Z., & Zhang, J. (2020) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/s12868-020-00569-1 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Zhang, Y., Weaver, R. G., Armstrong, B., Burkart, S., Zhang, S., & Beets, M. W. (2020) · Journal of Sports Sciences · doi:10.1080/02640414.2020.1767348 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Assessing momentary relaxation using the relaxation state questionnaire (RSQ)
Steghaus, S., & Poth, C. H. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-20524-w · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Biswas, A., & Ray, S. (2019) · eneuro · doi:10.1523/eneuro.0498-18.2019 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
- Authors
- Sugimoto, K., Kurashiki, H., Xu, Y., Takemi, M., & Amano, K.
- Affiliations
- Waseda University (JP)
- Keio University (JP)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Amano, Kaoru
- Venue
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Published
- 2026
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 598-628
- ISSN
- 0898-929X (ISSN-L)
- 1530-8898
- OpenAlex
- W4414909548
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 1.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Moonshot Research and Development Program (JPMJMS2012)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Keywords
- relaxation, alpha oscillations, EEG biomarkers, parasympathetic activity, electrocardiographic indices, frontal EEG channels, EEG frequency bands, relaxation response
- MeSH terms
- Alpha Rhythm, Electroencephalography, Humans, Relaxation, Biomarkers
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
