Studies
A large component of the complex, multidimensional and evolving nature of the EPRC is implemented through individual studies. Here, we will present some of them that are on-going at different scientific institutions or those that require funding. See the bottom of the page for more information on all EPRC studies.
If you support the mission of the EPRC, please consider ways to contribute with time, funding or otherwise.
Given that neuroimaging studies of meditation practice have not yet produced a consensus regarding biological changes in the meditating brain, this study proposes to assess expert meditators as they perform a specific four-stage concentration meditation method called jhana (Pali, ‘meditation’) practice. In jhana meditation, practitioners progress through four cognitive states in a fixed order. The study thus aims to elucidate the neural mechanisms of attentional expertise in experienced concentration meditators.
In six experienced meditators and novice controls we will examine the cortical correlates of attentional function following concentration meditation. During a one week, multiple fMRI session study, experienced meditators will perform a sustained attention task prior to and following an intensive concentration meditation session. We predict that experienced meditators, but not novices, will emerge from meditation with decreased DAN-DN network connectivity concomitant with improved sustained attention performance (d’). We will also conduct full-brain task- and seed-based connectivity analyses to determine key structures for classifying meditation states relative to rest.
Team: Dr. Kathryn Devaney (Lead); Dr. Sara Lazar, Harvard Medical School Martinos Center; Dr. Mark Halko, Harvard Medical School McLean Hospital; Dr. Michael Esterman, Boston University; Dr. Kenneth Kwong, Harvard Medical School Martinos Center.
This study is in progress and partially funded. If you find the topic important and have access to funds, please contact the project lead to support it.
Read more about this study in the White Paper.
The Jhana and Attention Neuroimaging Study
Given that neuroimaging studies of meditation practice have not yet produced a consensus regarding biological changes in the meditating brain, this study proposes to assess expert meditators as they perform a specific four-stage concentration meditation method called jhana (Pali, ‘meditation’) practice. In jhana meditation, practitioners progress through four cognitive states in a fixed order. The study thus aims to elucidate the neural mechanisms of attentional expertise in experienced concentration meditators.
In six experienced meditators and novice controls we will examine the cortical correlates of attentional function following concentration meditation. During a one week, multiple fMRI session study, experienced meditators will perform a sustained attention task prior to and following an intensive concentration meditation session. We predict that experienced meditators, but not novices, will emerge from meditation with decreased DAN-DN network connectivity concomitant with improved sustained attention performance (d’). We will also conduct full-brain task- and seed-based connectivity analyses to determine key structures for classifying meditation states relative to rest.
Team: Dr. Kathryn Devaney (Lead); Dr. Sara Lazar, Harvard Medical School Martinos Center; Dr. Mark Halko, Harvard Medical School McLean Hospital; Dr. Michael Esterman, Boston University; Dr. Kenneth Kwong, Harvard Medical School Martinos Center.
This study is in progress and partially funded. If you find the topic important and have access to funds, please contact the project lead to support it.
Read more about this study in the White Paper.
The EEG Fruition Study
The objective of the study is to explore the electrophysiology and neurophenomenology of a specific phenomenon involving the experience of the vanishing and reappearance of consciousness known as a “Fruition” in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. A single adept meditator who claims to be able to attain Fruitions repeatedly and while being measured is recording meditation sessions on a commercially available Cognionics Quick-20R research-grade dry EEG that he claims involve Fruitions and is marking and grading the quality of his certainty of these events for detailed analysis. Given the remarkable claims of adept meditators, we hypothesize based on the description and also preliminary data already obtained that the reported Fruitions should have a recognizable signal on EEG, and that this signal, if properly analyzed, might yield important clues about attention, consciousness, the possible “frame rate” of experience, and how this experience might be induced or cultivated in those who haven’t had it, such as by biofeedback.
Team: Dr. Remko van Lutterveld (Utrecht University Medical Centre) and Dr. Matthew D. Sacchet (Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital), and additional machine-learning and data processing experts and Qualia Research Institute members, who are analyzing this data as part of their Collecting Valence Enhancing Meditation Data from Advanced Practitioners study.
This study is in progress and partially funded. If you find the topic important and have access to funds, please contact the project lead to support it.
Read more about this study in the White Paper.
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Given the large number of projects and studies, we decided to host the details of all the current or prospective studies in the White Paper. The format allows the whole scope of our work and vision to be viewed in many different ways, depending on your interests and needs.