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Brainstem auditory-evoked potentials in two meditative mental states
oleh: Kumar Sanjay, Nagendra H, Naveen K, Manjunath N, Telles Shirley
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2010-01-01 |
Deskripsi
<b>Context:</b> Practicing mental repetition of "OM" has been shown to cause significant changes in the middle latency auditory-evoked potentials, which suggests that it facilitates the neural activity at the mesencephalic or diencephalic levels. <b>Aims:</b> The aim of the study was to study the brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEP) in two meditation states based on consciousness, viz. <i>dharana</i>, and <i>dhyana</i>. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Thirty subjects were selected, with ages ranging from 20 to 55 years (M=29.1; ±SD=6.5 years) who had a minimum of 6 months experience in meditating "OM". Each subject was assessed in four sessions, i.e. two meditation and two control sessions. The two control sessions were: (i) <i>ekagrata</i>, i.e. single-topic lecture on meditation and (ii) <i>cancalata</i>, i.e. non-targeted thinking. The two meditation sessions were: (i) <i>dharana</i>, i.e. focusing on the symbol "OM" and (ii) <i>dhyana</i>, i.e. effortless single-thought state "OM". All four sessions were recorded on four different days and consisted of three states, i.e. pre, during and post. <b>Results:</b> The present results showed that the wave V peak latency significantly increased in <i>cancalata</i>, <i>ekagrata</i> and <i>dharana</i>, but no change occurred during the <i>dhyana</i> session. <b>Conclusions:</b> These results suggested that information transmission along the auditory pathway is delayed during <i>cancalata</i>, <i>ekagrata</i> and <i>dharana</i>, but there is no change during <i>dhyana</i>. It may be said that auditory information transmission was delayed at the inferior collicular level as the wave V corresponds to the tectum.