A single case design to examine short-term intracranial EEG patterns during focused meditation.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study used a multiple crossover ABAB single case design to examine intracranial EEG data during a breath awareness meditation and an active control task. RESULTS: Visual analyses suggest that a brief breath awareness mediation was consistently associated with increased alpha power when compared to the active control. Less consistent effects were found with theta, beta, and high gamma activity. Nonparametric tests provided additional support for this finding. CONCLUSIONS: Acquiring intracranial EEG patterns during a meditative state may provide more insight into the physiology of meditation with less contamination of high-frequency muscle activity. While access to intracranial EEG during meditation is rarely available, single case design studies are considered adaptations of interrupted time-series designs and can provide an experimental evaluation of intervention effects.