Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec:161:110150.
doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2024.110150. Epub 2024 Nov 13.

Influence of mindfulness meditation on intracranial EEG parameters in epileptic and non-epileptic brain areas

Daniel D Cummins  1 , Zac Schulman  2 , Christina Maher  3 , Lea Tortolero  4 , Adam Saad  5 , Lizabeth Nunez Martinez  6 , Richard J Davidson  7 , Lara V Marcuse  8 , Ignacio Saez  9 , Fedor Panov  10
Affiliations

Influence of mindfulness meditation on intracranial EEG parameters in epileptic and non-epileptic brain areas

Daniel D Cummins et al. Epilepsy Behav. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: Mind-wandering is a pervasive human brain state and, when in excess, may promote negative affect and neuropsychiatric conditions. Mindfulness meditation may promote alternate brain states, improving affect and reducing stress. An understanding of the neural basis between these brain states could thus advance treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions, including those associated with epilepsy.

Methods: To explore the neural basis of mindfulness meditation versus mind-wandering, we enrolled eight patients in a trial of structured mindfulness meditation and open mind-wandering who underwent stereo electroencephalography (sEEG) within the mesial temporal lobe for seizure localization. Electrophysiology was compared between mind-wandering and mindfulness separately for epileptic and non-epileptic MTL. Using fitting-one-over-f modeling, periodic components of electrophysiology were compared in canonical frequency bands of theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), and gamma (30-55 Hz). Aperiodic components of the power spectra were assessed by the model offset, knee, and exponent.

Results: We found a significant reduction in gamma power (30-55 Hz) within the mesial temporal lobe (MTL) during mindfulness meditation compared with mind-wandering in non-epileptic (p = 1.20E-4) but not in epileptic MTL (p = 0.352).There was also a significant difference between epileptic versus non-epileptic MTL in gamma power between conditions (p = 0.011). There were no significant changes in power across any frequency band within epileptic mesial temporal MTL between brain states. Conversely, there were significant differences between mind-wandering and mindfulness within epileptic MTL in aperiodic components (offset, knee, and exponent, all p < 0.05), while no differences in aperiodic components were seen in non-epileptic MTL (all p > 0.70).

Significance: Intracranial electrophysiologic modulations between brain state (mind-wandering versus mindfulness) may differ between epileptic and non-epileptic MTL. Modulations in gamma activity in non-epileptic MTL may represent functional changes in brain state, while aperiodic changes in epileptic MTL may modulate propensity for seizures.

Keywords: Amygdala; Electrophysiology; Epilepsy; Hippocampus; Meditation; Mind-wandering.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dr. Fedor Panov, MD is a paid speaker for NeuroPace. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest. We confirm that we have read the Journal’s position on issues involved in ethical publication and affirm that this report is consistent with those guidelines.

References

    1. Killingsworth MA, Gilbert DT. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science. 2010;330(6006):932. doi:10.1126/science.1192439 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Crosswell AD, Coccia M, Epel E. Mind wandering and stress: When you don’t like the present moment. Emotion. Published online February 4, 2019:10.1037/emo0000548. doi:10.1037/emo0000548 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hoffmann F, Banzhaf C, Kanske P, Bermpohl F, Singer T. Where the depressed mind wanders: Self-generated thought patterns as assessed through experience sampling as a state marker of depression. J Affect Disord. 2016;198:127–134. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.03.005 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Marchetti I, Koster EHW, Klinger E, Alloy LB. Spontaneous Thought and Vulnerability to Mood Disorders: The Dark Side of the Wandering Mind. Clin Psychol Sci. 2016;4(5):835–857. doi:10.1177/2167702615622383 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mrazek MD, Smallwood J, Schooler JW. Mindfulness and mind-wandering: finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion. 2012;12(3):442–448. doi:10.1037/a0026678 - DOI - PubMed