Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38454382›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary medicine and therapies2024

Mind and body connection in expert meditators: a computational study based on central and peripheral nervous system.

Francesca Borghesi, Riccardo Cremascoli, Alice Chirico, Laura Bianchi, Amalia Di Moia, Lorenzo Priano, Alessandro Piedimonte, Alessandro Mauro, Pietro Cipresso

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Francesca BorghesiDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. francesca.borghesi@unito.it.
Riccardo CremascoliIstituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Unit of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, San Giuseppe Hospital Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy.
Alice ChiricoResearch Center in Communication Psychology, Universitá Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy.
Laura BianchiIstituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Unit of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, San Giuseppe Hospital Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy.
Amalia Di MoiaIstituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Unit of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, San Giuseppe Hospital Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy.
Lorenzo PrianoIstituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Unit of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, San Giuseppe Hospital Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy.
Alessandro PiedimonteDepartment of Neurosciences Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Alessandro MauroIstituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Unit of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation, San Giuseppe Hospital Piancavallo, Verbania, Italy.
Pietro CipressoDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico · ITIRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano · ITDepartment of Public Health · USUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore · ITUniversity of Turin · IT

Funding

Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Milan, Italy Ricerca Corrente
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A meditative 'technique' is conceived as a continuum of different affective states involving mind and body jointly. Meditative practices can involve cognitive effort (e.g., focused attention and open-minded techniques), as well as automatic and implicit practices (e.g., transcendental techniques). The NGALSO tantric self-healing meditation technique is a brief, comprehensive meditation technique relying on mind and body connection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the state and the trait neurophysiological correlates of NGALSO meditation practice. First, 19 EEG channels and a 3-lead ECG signal were recorded from 10 expert meditators (more than 7 years of daily meditation) and 10 healthy inexpert participants (controls) who underwent the same meditative procedure. The neuropsychological profiles of experts and controls were compared. Results showed that expert meditators had significantly higher power spectra on alpha, theta and beta, and a higher sympathetic tone with lower parasympathetic tone after meditation. Conversely, the control group had significantly less power spectra on alpha, theta and beta, and a higher parasympathetic tone with lower sympathetic tone after meditation. A machine learning approach also allowed us to classify experts vs. controls correctly by using only EEG Theta bands before or after meditation. ECG results allowed us to show a significantly higher effort by expert meditators vs. controls, thus suggesting that a higher effort is required for this meditation, in line with the principle 'no pain, no gain' in body and mind.

Indexed as

MeditationHumansPeripheral Nervous SystemAffective StatesCognitive neuropsychologyComputational PsychometricsMeditationNeurologyNeurophysiologyNeuropsychologyNeurosciencePsychometricsQuantitative Psychology

Identifiers

PMID38454382
PMCPMC10921575
OpenAlexW4392550035

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.