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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Combining Behavior and EEG to Study the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Episodic Memory
Published on: May 11, 2020
Dissociating meditation proficiency and experience dependent EEG changes during traditional Vipassana meditation
Ratna Jyothi Kakumanu1, Ajay Kumar Nair1, Rahul Venugopal1
1Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru 560029, Karnataka, India.
Abstract:
Meditation, as taught by most schools of practice, consists of a set of heterogeneous techniques. We wanted to assess if EEG profiles varied across different meditation techniques, proficiency levels and experience of the practitioners. We examined EEG dynamics in Vipassana meditators (Novice, Senior meditators and Teachers) while they engaged in their traditional meditation practice (concentration, mindfulness and loving kindness in a structured manner) as taught by S.N. Goenka. Seniors and Teachers (vs Novices) showed trait increases in delta (1-4 Hz), theta-alpha (6-10 Hz) and low-gamma power (30-40 Hz) at baseline rest; state-trait increases in low-alpha (8-10 Hz) and low-gamma power during concentrative and mindfulness meditation; and theta-alpha and low-gamma power during loving-kindness meditation. Permutation entropy and Higuchi fractal dimension measures further dissociated high proficiency from duration of experience as only Teachers showed consistent increase in network complexity from baseline rest and state transitions between the different meditation states.
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