Neurodynamic profiles in the alpha band distinguish different forms of meditation.

Vipassana and Shoonya meditation produce distinct alpha-band brain dynamics, with differences more apparent in temporal variability than in average activity. Vipassana, involving systematic body scanning, showed lower variability and more regular temporal patterns in both peak frequency and power of alpha oscillations. Shoonya, a non-directed attention practice, exhibited higher variability and irregularity in these measures. The findings suggest that dynamic features of brain activity, such as variability and temporal irregularity, may distinguish contemplative practices better than static averages, and could reflect a shared property of brain and experience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Different forms of meditation, like Vipassana and Shoonya, require distinct attentional features. For instance, Vipassana, which involves systematically scanning different body parts, may demand a sustained yet dynamic focus with a temporally stable and regular attentional emphasis. In contrast, Shoonya meditation has been described as involving a non-directed or defocused attentional stance, likely with a temporally variable and irregular attentional flow. We used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine whether these differences could correspond to distinct neurodynamic patterns in the alpha band. We measured two time-resolved dynamic measures including phase-based Peak Frequency Sliding (PFS), indexing fine-grained millisecond temporal resolution, and Power Sliding (PS), indexing oscillatory amplitude. Beyond mean values, we additionally quantified the temporal dynamics of PFS and PS using coefficient of variation (CV) as an index of variability, and permutation entropy (PE) as a measure of temporal irregularity. While mean differences between the two practices were observed only for PS (and not PFS), their dynamic variants more robustly distinguished the two practices. Specifically, Vipassana exhibited lower CV and PE in both PFS and PS compared to Shoonya. These findings indicate that the two practices differ more strongly in the temporal-dynamic organization of alpha-band activity than in their static averaged measures. More broadly, they support the view that dynamic features such as variability and temporal irregularity may be shared by both brain and experience, as their "common currency," during different contemplative practices.