If you have ever thought practice meditationyou might believe that you should relax, breathe, and clear your mind of distracting thoughts. Novices tend to think of meditation as the brain resting, but a new international study concludes that this ancient practice is quite the opposite: Meditation is a state of heightened brain activity that profoundly changes brain dynamics.
Researchers from the University of Montreal and Italy’s National Research Council recruited 12 monks from the Thai forest tradition at Santacittārāma, a Buddhist monastery outside Rome. In a laboratory in Chieti-Pescara, scientists analyzed the brain activity of these meditation practitioners using magnetoencephalography (MEG), a technology capable of recording electrical signals from the brain with great precision.
The study focused on two classic forms of meditation: Samatha, a technique that focuses on sustained attention on a specific goal, often steady breathing, with the aim of stabilizing the mind and achieving a deep state of calm and concentration, and Vipassana, which is based on calmly observing sensations, thoughts and emotions as they arise in order to develop mental clarity and a deeper understanding of experience.
“With Samatha, you narrow your focus, much like narrowing the beam of a flashlight; with Vipassana, on the contrary, you broaden the beam,” explains Karim Jerbi, professor of psychology at the University of Montreal and one of the co-authors of the study. “Both practices actively engage attentional mechanisms. Although Vipassana is more difficult for beginners, in mindfulness programs the two techniques are often practiced alternately.”
The researchers recorded several indicators of brain dynamics, including neuronal oscillations, measures of signal complexity and parameters related to what is called “criticality”, a concept borrowed from statistical physics applied to neuroscience for 20 years. Criticality describes systems that operate effectively on the boundary between order and chaos, and in neuroscience it is considered an optimal state for processing information in a healthy brain.
“A brain that lacks flexibility adapts poorly, while too much chaos can lead to dysfunction, as in epilepsy,” Jerbi explains in an article. press release. “At the critical point, neural networks are stable enough to transmit information reliably, but flexible enough to quickly adapt to new situations. This balance optimizes the brain’s ability to process, learn and respond.”
During the experiment, the monks’ brain activity was recorded by a high-resolution MEG system as they alternated between one type of meditation with brief periods of rest in between. The data was then processed with advanced signal analysis and machine learning tools to extract different indicators of neuronal complexity and dynamics.
Find a balance
Results published in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness show that both forms of meditation increase the complexity of brain signals compared to a resting brain. This finding suggests that the meditating brain does not just calm down, but rather enters a dynamic, information-rich state. At the same time, the researchers observed generalized reductions in certain parameters linked to the overall organization of neuronal activity.
One of the most striking findings from criticality gap coefficient analysis showed a clear distinction between Samatha and Vipassana. This indicates that, although both practices increase brain complexity, they do so through different dynamic configurations consistent with their subjective experiences. In other words, Vipassana brings the practitioner closer to the balance between stability and flexibility, while Samatha produces a somewhat more stable and focused state. According to researchers, the closer the brain gets to this critical equilibrium state, the more responsive and efficient it functions. This results, for example, in a greater ability to switch tasks or store information.
Taken together, the results support the hypothesis that associates meditation practice with modulations of neuronal oscillations, an increase in the complexity of brain activity, and an alteration of brain criticality. “Since meditation is an active state that engages attentional processes, it affects multiple aspects of brain function, leading to improved well-being and reduced stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression,” Jerbi said.
By analyzing the ancient practice of meditation with cutting-edge technology, the study sheds new light on an age-old tradition. “This unique combination,” Jerbi noted, “has allowed us to document with unprecedented precision what happens in the brain during meditation.”
This story was originally published on WIRED in spanish and was translated from Spanish.
