Mapping complex mind states: EEG neural substrates of meditative unified compassionate awareness

• Published in: Consciousness and cognition Vol. 57; pp. 41 - 53
• Main Authors: Schoenberg, Poppy L.A., Ruf, Andrea, Churchill, John, Brown, Daniel P., Brewer, Judson A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.01.2018; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Adult; Awareness - physiology; Beta; Brain Waves - physiology; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Cognition & reasoning; Consciousness; Cortex (parietal); EEG; EEG LORETA; Electroencephalography; Electroencephalography - methods; Female; Frequency dependence; Gamma; Humans; Male; Meditation; Mental states; Middle Aged; Superior parietal lobule; Gamma; EEG LORETA; Meditation; Mental states; Beta
• ISSN: 1053-8100; 1090-2376
• DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.11.003

•Neural markers of awakened awareness via essence-of-mind meditation were examined.•Current density decreased in ACC, insula, precuneus, PCC, S/IPL, at meditation onset.•Gamma current density increased in d/vACC, precuneus, SPL, from state 1 to state 4.•Beta current density increased within the insular cortex, from state 1 to state 4.•Dissociation of self-referential and executive-control regions in awakened awareness. Specific mental training cultivates diminished self-reference, encompassing non-duality, emptiness, awakened-awareness, and compassionate experiences. We aimed to elucidate the neural substrates of four distinct, interdependent Essence-of-Mind states: (1) timelessness, (2) non-preference, non-duality, non-conceptualization, (3) the view of luminosity and limitlessness, (4) unified compassionate experience of oneness (stable awakened-awareness). EEG data were collected from 30 advanced meditators concomitant to eyes-open/eyes-closed resting baseline, followed by 60-min of instructed practice. Alpha, beta, and gamma, frequency-spatial EEG-dimensions were analyzed. The results revealed that compared to baseline, current density across frequencies significantly decreased upon meditation onset in self-referential, and executive-control regions. During meditation, gamma-band current density significantly increased from state-1 compared to state-4, within the ACC, precuneus, and superior parietal lobule, whereas beta-band activity increased within the insula. These findings suggest a dissociation between brain regions regulating self-referential vs. executive-control processing, during non-dual, compassionate states, characterized by brilliantly awake awareness, free from conceptual thought and “doing”.