COMPARING THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF FOCUSED-ATTENTION AND OPEN-MONITORING MEDITATION: A MEG STUDY

The phenomenology and reported effects of meditation vary according to the technique practiced. While numerous studies have explored the cerebral mechanisms involved in meditation, little research provides direct comparisons between the neuronal network dynamics involved in different meditation techniques. Here, we explore and compare brain signals recorded with magnetoencephalography (MEG) during (a) focused-attention meditation (FAM), and (b) open-monitoring meditation (OMM) in a group of expert meditators (12 monks). To this end, we estimated MEG source time courses using minimum-norm and computed spectral power in multiple frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma), graph theoretical measures and multifractal scaling parameters in both conditions. Preliminary findings reveal several differences between FAM and OMM. Interestingly, OMM was associated with higher theta power in the right temporal pole. We discuss these results in the context of previous cognitive neuroimaging studies of meditation and paths for future research are proposed.