Decreased electrophysiological activity represents the conscious state of emptiness in meditation

Hinterberger, Thilo; Schmidt, Stephanie; Kamei, Tsutomu; Walach, Harald

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00099

Cited by 88 publications

(86 citation statements)

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“…The techniques are simple: (1) We do not use concentration or repetition or analysis, only the rule "do not intervene" in breathing, focusing on VBH and "letting it happen"; (2) Eyes closed/option of having them half open; (5) Static; (6) Nonverbal; (7) Sit in the correct position, backbone straight, on a chair, cushion or bench; (8) There is therapist-patient interaction. In some ways, our work is similar to the idiosyncratic meditation proposed by Hinterberger et al [122], in the sense of integrating different methods. We must add that the rule "do not intervene" is linked to another that is "let yourself breathe", whose aim is to enable the discursive mind to enter into meditative calm.…”

Section: Non-linear Dynamics Of Meditative States Of Consciousness: Asupporting

confidence: 51%

“…OM appears to be related to Thoughtless Emptiness (TE) meditation in terms of the tendency to refrain from using thoughts, memories, emotions, associations, perceptions while this state is maintained [122]. This persistent focus on OM is related to the practice in Tibetan Buddhism called Samatha with regard to the use of breathing as a focus, and is extensible to other practices.…”

Section: Description Of the Three States/thresholdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there are already results from ongoing investigations, these will need further empirical advances. In some instructions specifically in spatial connectedness, it offers the opportunity to view and perceive an "energy stream" through the body axis [122].…”

Section: Description Of the Three States/thresholdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Beyond Frontiers: Meditative Practice, Clinical Practice and Scientific Research

Almendro¹,

López²

2016

J Psychol Psychother

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Section: Non-linear Dynamics Of Meditative States Of Consciousness: Asupporting

confidence: 51%

Section: Description Of the Three States/thresholdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond Frontiers: Meditative Practice, Clinical Practice and Scientific Research

Almendro¹,

López²

2016

J Psychol Psychother

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“…Wheeler et al (1997) reported that in some cases lesions in the right frontotemporal cortex led to the experience of cognitive detachment from the self. Interestingly, the contrast of “selfless” with self-centered shows a very similar picture, especially with regard to alpha and beta bands, to the contrast between “thoughtless emptiness” and a state of presence referred to as open monitoring as measured in a study with 30 meditators (Hinterberger et al, 2014). In fact, the state of being present in the moment with an awareness of the physical space of the body represents the IS state, while pure observation of an object from outside (the instruction in the OF state did not ask for cognitive thoughts about the object) might come close to a non-attached thoughtless state.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Neurophysiological correlates of various mental perspectives

Hinterberger¹,

Zlabinger²,

Blaser³

2014

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

Self Cite

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A common view of consciousness is that our mind presents emotions, experiences, and images in an internal mental (re-)presentation space which in a state of wakefulness is triggered by the world outside. Consciousness can be defined as the observation of this inner mental space. We propose a new model, in which the state of the conscious observer is defined by the observer’s mental position and focus of attention. The mental position of the observer can either be within the mental self (intrapersonal space), in the mental outer world (extrapersonal space) or in an empathic connection, i.e., within the intrapersonal space of another person (perspective taking). The focus of attention can be directed toward the self or toward the outside world. This mental space model can help us to understand the patterns of relationships and interactions with other persons as they occur in social life. To investigate the neurophysiological correlates and discriminability of the different mental states, we conducted an EEG experiment measuring the brain activity of 16 subjects via 64 electrodes while they engaged in different mental positions (intrapersonal, extrapersonal, perspective taking) with different attentional foci (self, object). Compared to external mental locations, internal ones showed significantly increased alpha2 power, especially when the observer was focusing on an object. Alpha2 and beta2 were increased in the empathic condition compared to the extrapersonal perspective. Delta power was significantly higher when the attentional focus was directed toward an object in comparison to the participant’s own self. This exploratory study demonstrates highly significant differences between various mental locations and foci, suggesting that the proposed categories of mental location and intra- and interpersonal attentional foci are not only helpful theoretical concepts but are also physiologically relevant and therefore may relate to basic brain processing mechanisms.

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“…It is probable that each of these state transitions, as well as other transitions not mentioned in this section (i.e., states 4 to 5 to 6), are accompanied by particular alterations in the EEG profiles of the individuals accomplishing these transitions. 97 Thus each of the proposed states may have its own electroencephalographic signature.…”

Section: Downloaded By [University Of Otago] At 00:21 14 July 2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

The natural history of consciousness, and the question of whether plants are conscious, in relation to the Hameroff-Penrose quantum-physical ‘Orch OR’ theory of universal consciousness

Barlow

2015

Communicative & Integrative Biology

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Abbreviations used AP action potential, EEG electroencephalograph, EPD electrical potential difference, MAP microtubule-associated protein, MT microtubule, Orch OR orchestrated objective reduction Downloaded by [University of Otago] at 00:21 14 July 2015 2 2 Whether or not plants exhibit consciousness in the sense that they possess a 'sensation of self' is uncertain. Unlike humans and certain animals, plants cannot be interrogated directly on this matter. In any case, it is possible that states of consciousness, like brains and nervous systems of animals, have evolved and developed in different ways, depending on their phylogeny. However, some of the criteria by which consciousness is inferred to be present in animals are met by plants. For example, plants display features of cognition (sensing and response) and of learning and memory which, in animals, contribute to the conscious state. Plants also possess a rudiment ary nervous system similar to that found in basal animals and have, perhaps, a simple brain, as well as showing slow and fast transmissable electrical activity, all of which are strong correlates of consciousness in animals. However, the question of consciousness in general can be approached in different way. This is by taking the Orch OR (Orchestrated Objective Reduction) hypothesis of Hameroff and Penr ose 1 as a starting point. The Orch OR hypothesis, which is based in quantum physics, proposes that, when a sufficient mass of tubulin molecules has assembled into cytoskeletal microtubules (MTs) within neuronal cells of the brain, these structures become sites of quantum c omputation and of quantum state reduction (OR) events resulting in moments of protoconsciousness. Because plant cells also have large populations of MTs, and because plant MTs share properties with those of animal neuronal MTs, which putatively orchestrate OR events, plant MTs might also be sites of quantum reduction events and, hence, lead to momentary protoconsciousness. The extent to which the Orch OR hypothesis is applicable to plants is examined, and it is argued that, within the plant body, the most likely tissue where OR events could be located and promote protoconsciousness is to be found in the system of ray cells of tree trunks in which bundled MTs and actin filaments are prevalent.A single complete ray complex is estimated to contain about as many tubulin molecules as a single human cerebral neuron.Inferential evidence used by Hameroff and Penrose to support their Orch OR hypothesis leads in another direction. These authors presented estimates of the frequency of protoconscious or conscious moments. This frequency turns out to be similar to the fr equency of successive Earthly quantal time units, according to a theory proposed by G. Dorda. 2 These time units are also intimately linked with simultaneous changes of quantal mass, both mass and time being structured according to the motions of Earth and Moon around the Sun.In the case of cellular tissues, quantised mass takes the form of aggregates of water, and these are ...

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Decreased electrophysiological activity represents the conscious state of emptiness in meditation

Cited by 88 publications

References 88 publications

Beyond Frontiers: Meditative Practice, Clinical Practice and Scientific Research

Beyond Frontiers: Meditative Practice, Clinical Practice and Scientific Research

Neurophysiological correlates of various mental perspectives

The natural history of consciousness, and the question of whether plants are conscious, in relation to the Hameroff-Penrose quantum-physical ‘Orch OR’ theory of universal consciousness

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