…The results showed significant differences between meditators and non-meditators in three of the four frequency bands studied: theta, alpha, and gamma. “These larger amplitudes are present when measured globally (across all brain regions), but also when we examined the distribution of these brain waves across the head,” Bailey told PsyPost.
Theta activity, associated with attention and working memory, was higher in meditators compared to non-meditators. This increase was most prominent in posterior brain regions, suggesting enhanced neural processes related to focus and information processing in experienced meditators.
For alpha activity, meditators displayed greater overall power as well as a distinctive distribution pattern. While non-meditators showed stronger alpha activity primarily in posterior regions, meditators exhibited higher alpha activity in frontal regions relative to the rest of the brain. This shift in distribution may reflect greater inhibitory control over irrelevant or distracting thoughts, a cognitive function often enhanced through mindfulness practice.
Gamma activity, linked to higher-order cognitive functions and neural integration, was also higher in meditators. The increase was particularly pronounced in frontal regions, indicating potential neuroplastic changes associated with prolonged meditation practice. Gamma waves are thought to play a role in attention and the integration of sensory information, suggesting that meditation might strengthen these capacities over time.
“Since these results were obtained while participants were simply resting (not performing any task), it is not obvious what cognitive processes these differences in brain activity reflect,” Bailey explained. “However, each of these brain waves have been associated with specific neural processes – theta brain waves have been associated with the direction of attention and selection of a specific thing to focus on when distractions are present, alpha brain waves have been associated with the engagement of top-down neural activity to inhibit brain regions that aren’t relevant to the task at hand, and gamma brain waves have been associated with energy intensive processing of sensory information as well as higher order cognitive functions and working memory. The fact that meditators show increased amplitude of each of these brain activities might suggest that they can engage these brain activities more strongly when needed, perhaps providing a potential mechanism underpinning the improved cognitive function associated with long-term practice of mindfulness meditation.”
UPDATE: This research describes some of the valuable, though mundane, benefits of meditation. In Buddhism, meditation fundamentally refers to the samadhi and dhyana states. The eighth element of the Noble Eightfold Path is Right Samadhi. Samadhi is the experience of a different state of mind with many levels of depth and importance. In many senses it is the experiential reward of Buddhist practice, a thing in itself, a practice that is its own reward. More information on samadhi can be found here. Definitionally, descriptively, samadhi is fairly simple. It entails the closing down or shutting off the the senses, while remaining mindful of what remains while that happens. ABN
American Buddhist Net 