International Journal of Neuroscience
January 1, 2006
Frederick Travis, Alarik Arenander
111 citations
Frontal brain coherence, but not lateral asymmetry, increases with long-term Transcendental Meditation practice. In two studies, frontal coherence was higher in 13 TM practitioners than in 12 controls, and in a one-year longitudinal study of 14 participants, coherence increased linearly during computer tasks and eyes-closed rest, and rose to a high level after 2 months of TM practice. Lateral asymmetry did not change in any condition. Coherence was more sensitive than lateral asymmetry to the effects of TM practice on brain functioning.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
January 1, 2018
Helané Wahbeh, Amira Sagher, Wallis Back et al.
103 citations
Transcendent states achieved through meditative practices have been reported across cultures and history, yet few studies have systematically examined them. This systematic review of 25 studies with 672 participants found that transcendent states during meditation are most consistently associated with slowed breathing, respiratory suspension, reduced muscle activity, increased EEG alpha power and coherence, and functional neural connectivity. Participants described the state as relaxed wakefulness in a phenomenologically different space-time. The review included various traditions: Buddhist, Christian, Mixed, and Vedic (Transcendental Meditation and Yoga). Heterogeneity between studies precluded meta-analysis, so conclusions are qualitative and preliminary.
International Journal of Psychological Studies
November 1, 2022
Frederick Travis
Psychedelic experiences and transcendental experiences during meditation are fundamentally different across five dimensions: EEG patterns (gamma vs alpha), brain blood-flow (decreased vs higher frontal), content of experience (intense mental/emotional vs content-free self-awareness), mechanism of action (influenced by set and setting vs transcending them), and therapeutic application. Therefore, equating the two or using findings from one to justify the other is inaccurate. Both areas merit careful research, but their results should not be superficially combined.
The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis
July 6, 2026
Moniek Vidia Pramestri, Kwartarini Wahyu Yuniarti, Frederick Travis et al.
Unregulated negative emotion raises burnout risk by 67%, impairing performance and causing physical symptoms. Hypnotic guided imagery (HGI), a deep relaxation intervention, aims to shift negative to positive emotion, but its physiological basis is unclear. This feasibility study tested HGI's effects on emotional valence and arousal in employees with burnout, using electroencephalography (EEG). Valence was measured by frontal alpha asymmetry; arousal by the frontal beta/alpha ratio. Participants were randomly assigned to HGI (n=19) or control (n=13). EEG analyses showed no significant changes, while self-report indicated increased positive and reduced negative affect in the HGI group. Discrepancies may stem from small samples and variability, highlighting the need for methodological rigor in EEG-based intervention studies.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
January 1, 2014
Frederick Travis
Transcendental experiences during meditation are characterized by the absence of time, space, and body sense. Physiologically, they are marked by slow inhalation, autonomic orientation at the onset of breath changes, and heightened α1 (8–10 Hz) frontal coherence. When these experiences integrate with waking, dreaming, and sleeping, the resulting state—called Cosmic Consciousness in the Vedic tradition—shows inner self-awareness coexisting with all three states. Physiologically, Cosmic Consciousness features α1 EEG coexisting with delta EEG during deep sleep, along with higher brain integration, greater emotional stability, and decreased anxiety during challenging tasks. Transcendental experiences may foster higher human development.