Mapping meditative states and stages with electrophysiology: concepts, classifications, and methods.
Poppy la Schoenberg, David R Vago
Current opinion in psychology August 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.01.007 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe exploration of human consciousness, specifically how brain structure and function produce the mind, remains a frontier in neuroscience. Mindfulness and contemplative practices involve systematic mental training that can develop the mind in quantifiable ways. While some electrophysiological markers of meditation have been identified, fundamental questions remain: how to classify discrete 'mind states' of consciousness in line with phenomenological experience for ontological quantification; what measures best represent such classification; and whether current electrophysiological approaches can map developmentally specified mind states to neurobiological substrates, given ongoing debates about EEG band functionality and underlying mechanisms.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 59 |
| Key finding | The abstract outlines unresolved questions about classifying and quantifying meditative mind states using electrophysiological measures, rather than presenting a specific finding. |
Abstract
Exploration of human consciousness remains a final frontier within basic neuroscience; that is, how the finite biological structure and function of the brain give rise to the seemingly infinite expanse that encompasses the terrain of the mind. Contemporary mindfulness and other contemplative practices across historical and post-modern traditions involve systematic forms of mental training that allow a practitioner to develop the mind in very specific and quantifiable ways. While there has been some progress identifying specific electrophysiological markers of meditation, some fundamental questions remain to this scientific enquiry; (1) how to concisely classify discrete and developmentally specific 'mind states' of consciousness that are in line with the subtle complex phenomenology of experience so to yield ontological quantifications? (2) what measures best represent such classification/quantification systems? (3) can the present electrophysiological purview map developmentally specified mind states and stages to neurobiological substrates, based on extant contention (i.e. discrete EEG band functionality, phenomenological significance, and underlying mechanisms) regarding the interpretation of EEG physiology/morphology?