Transcendental Meditation activates brain's natural ground state

Washington, Mar 5 (ANI): Transcendental Meditation technique has the ability to activate the default mode network-a suggested natural "ground state" of the brain, according to a new EEG study.

The three-month randomised control study was conducted on college students at American University.

The study found that the TM technique produces a unique state of "restful alertness," as seen in the markedly higher alpha power in the frontal cortex and lower beta and gamma waves in the same frontal areas during TM practice.

It creates greater alpha coherence between the left and right hemispheres of the brain suggesting the brain is working as a whole.

The technique also enhances an individual's sense of "self" by activating what neuroscientists call the "default mode network" in the brain.

The brain's "default mode network" is considered the natural ground state of the brain, glimpsed by neuroscientists during eyes-closed rest but more fully activated during Transcendental Meditation practice.

The study has been published in a special issue of Cognitive Processing dedicated to the Neuroscience of Meditation and Consciousness. (ANI)