Mid-latency auditory evoked potentials in 2 meditative states.
Mid-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEPs) were assessed in 60 participants during 4 mental states described in traditional yoga texts. These 4 mental states are random thinking, nonmeditative-focused thinking, meditative focusing, and meditation. Assessments were made before (5 minutes), during (20 minutes), and after (5 minutes) each of the 4 states, on 4 separate days. There were prolonged latencies of 2 MLAEPs components, the Na and Pa waves during meditation (P < .05, post hoc analyses following analysis of variance [ANOVA]), suggesting that auditory information transmission at the level of the medial geniculate and primary auditory cortex (ie, the neural generators corresponding to the Na and Pa waves) was delayed. Hence, meditation influenced MLAEPs, while meditative focusing did not.
ICMR Center for Advanced Research in Yoga and Neurophysiology, S-VYASA University, Bengaluru, India. shirleytelles@gmail.com
Shirley
S
Telles
Bhat Ramachandra
BR
Raghavendra
Kalkuni Visweswaraiah
KV
Naveen
Nandi Krishnamurthy
NK
Manjunath
Pailoor
P
Subramanya
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D015013:Yoga