Mindfulness meditation is linked to a broad range of psychological and physical health benefits, potentially mediated by changes in neural oscillations. This study explored changes in neural oscillations associated with both immediate and regular mindfulness meditation practice. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were collected from 40 healthy young adults (M = 20.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDetailed studies of the equiprobable auditory Go/NoGo task have allowed for the development of a sequential-processing model of the perceptual and cognitive processes involved. These processes are reflected in various components differentiating the Go and NoGo event-related potentials (ERPs). It has long been established that electroencephalography (EEG) changes through normal lifespan development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Psychophysiol
November 2024
Neuroscience has identified that mindfulness meditation induces a state of relaxed alertness, characterised by changes in theta and alpha oscillations and reduced sympathetic arousal, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to address this gap by examining changes in neural oscillations and arousal during mindfulness meditation using both traditional and data-driven methods. Fifty-two healthy young adults underwent electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance level (SCL) recordings during resting baseline and mindfulness meditation conditions, both conducted with eyes closed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMind-wandering is characterised as the emergence of thought and emotions which shift attention away from a primary task. It is thought to consume up to 50 % of our waking lives and has several negative implications. Breath-counting is one task that has been utilised in conjunction with electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the brain states associated with mind-wandering.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Psychophysiol
April 2022
This study investigated age-related changes in the EEG of subtypes of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) compared with neurotypical controls, using an eyes-open resting condition. Two hundred and twenty five children between the ages of 5 and 16 years participated in this study. Groups consisted of AD/HD of the combined (AD/HDcom) and inattentive (AD/HDin) types, which were compared with controls for each of three age ranges: Young (5-8 years), Middle (9-12 years), and Old (13-16 years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Psychophysiol
February 2022
This study investigated age related changes in the EEG of normal children in an eyes-open condition, in order to provide developmental norms for the study of children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) - see our companion paper (Mason et al., submitted). EEG was recorded at 17 sites from 75 children (63 boys and 12 girls, in the approximately 5:1 ratio common in AD/HD) between the ages of 5 and 16 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollowing investigations into the benefits of meditation on psychological health and well-being, research is now seeking to understand the mechanisms underlying these outcomes. This study aimed to identify natural alpha and theta frequency components during eyes-closed resting and concentrative meditation states and examined their differences within and between two testing sessions. Novice meditators had their EEG recorded during eyes-closed resting and concentrative meditation conditions, before and after engaging in a brief daily concentrative meditation practice for approximately one-month.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Psychophysiol Biofeedback
December 2021
This study examined sex differences in the EEG of adults diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) according to DSM-5 criteria. Sixteen females and 16 males with AD/HD, and age- and sex-matched control groups, had an eyes-closed resting EEG recorded from 19 electrode sites. EEGs were Fast Fourier transformed and estimates for total power, absolute and relative power in the delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma bands, and the theta/beta ratio, were analysed across nine cortical regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article reviews the eyes-open and eyes-closed resting electroencephalogram (EEG) literature for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) from 2002 to 2019. This time has seen substantial increase in interest in resting state EEG, with investigations moving from a comparison of an AD/HD sample to a control group, to research investigating a wide range of theoretical and clinical aspects of the disorder. This has included investigations of subgroups based on their EEG profile, sex differences in the EEG, increasing interest in the EEG of adults, and the effects of comorbid disorders on the EEG of people with AD/HD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSome 40 years ago, Erol Başar began an interesting line of brain dynamics research on the phase of oscillatory EEG activity. Stimuli presented at a fixed interstimulus interval (ISI) were reported to produce a "preferred phase angle" at stimulus onset in the ongoing EEG oscillations, so that cortical negativity occurred more often than expected. Our previous work has confirmed this phenomenon in young adults, and linked it to enhancements in stimulus-elicited ERP components and behaviour.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn elevated theta/beta ratio in the EEG has long been observed among individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The theta/beta ratio was previously hypothesised to be an index of arousal, but a number of studies failed to find any association between the ratio and indices of arousal, instead proposing that the theta/beta ratio may actually be indicative of cognitive processing. This hypothesis was tested by Clarke et al using a sample of healthy adults, with results indicating that the theta/beta ratio correlated with a marker of cognitive processing (P300 latency in an auditory oddball task), while P300 amplitude correlated with an arousal marker (alpha power).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Global EEG alpha activity is negatively correlated with skin conductance level (SCL), supporting alpha as an inverse marker of arousal. Frequency Principal Components Analysis (f-PCA) of resting EEG amplitude spectra has demonstrated natural components in the alpha band of healthy persons. This is a preliminary exploration of whether such components differ with arousal, possibly underpinning the anomalous ADHD hypoarousal link to reduced alpha.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders found in children. While an extensive literature has documented the EEG in this clinical population, few studies have investigated EEG throughout the lifespan in ADHD. This study aimed to investigate EEG maturational changes, in subjects with ADHD combined type, that spanned from childhood into adulthood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Psychophysiol Biofeedback
June 2019
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is the most common psychiatric disorder of childhood and has been extensively researched using EEG technology. Within this literature, one of the most widely examined measures has been the theta/beta ratio. The theta/beta ratio was initially hypothesised to represent the arousal mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study we extend on behavioural evidence to examine the effect of time on EEG measures related to arousal and emotion/motivation in children with/without AD/HD. Thirty children with AD/HD and 30 age- and sex-matched controls participated. EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition and divided into three 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe theta/beta ratio (TBR) is a major area of interest within electroencephalogram (EEG) research in AD/HD. While researchers suggest a prognostic role for TBR in AD/HD, its relationship to behavior remains uncertain. Recent evidence suggests that elevated TBR in AD/HD may be related to atypical inhibition, particularly at an attentional level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStimulant medications are the most commonly prescribed treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). These medications result in a normalization of the EEG. However, past research has found that complete normalization of the EEG is not always achieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study investigated differences in EEG coherence measures between two groups of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) - one with the more common EEG profile (increased theta), and a group with excess alpha activity as the dominant EEG abnormality.
Methods: 26 children (aged 9-13years) with AD/HD were included in each of the excess-theta and excess-alpha groups, and were age- and sex-matched with 26 control subjects. EEG was recorded from 19 electrode sites during an eyes-closed resting condition.
Objective: This study investigated differences in the EEG power and coherence of children with Asperger's Syndrome.
Method: Twenty boys with Asperger's Syndrome, aged 7-12 years, and an age and sex matched control group, participated in this study. The EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition from 19 electrode sites, which were clustered into nine regions prior to analysis.
This study further investigated electroencephalogram (EEG) differences between girls with the Combined and Inattentive types of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). We selected subjects with widely separated scores on hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms to behaviorally exaggerate diagnostic group differences. Twenty girls with AD/HD Combined type, 20 girls with AD/HD Inattentive type, and 20 controls (aged 7-12 years) had an eyes-closed resting EEG recorded from 19 electrodes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSuppl Clin Neurophysiol
October 2013
Our perspective on resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) is that it provides a window into the substrate of cognitive and perceptual processing, reflecting the dynamic potential of the brain's current functional state. In an extended research program into the electrophysiology of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), we have examined resting-state EEG power and coherence, and event-related potentials (ERPs), in children, adolescents, and adults with the disorder. We sought initially to identify consistent AD/HD anomalies in these measures, relative to normal control subjects, and then to understand how these differences related to existing models of AD/HD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPast research has reported that a small proportion of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) have excess beta activity in their EEG, rather than the excess theta typical of the syndrome. This atypical group has been tentatively labeled as hyperaroused. The aim of this study was to determine whether these children have a hyperaroused central nervous system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study investigated sex differences between the EEGs of Combined and Inattentive types of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) within boys and girls aged 8-12 years. Subject groups included 80 AD/HD Combined type (40 boys and 40 girls), 80 AD/HD Inattentive type (40 boys and 40 girls) and 80 controls (40 boys and 40 girls). An eyes-closed resting EEG was recorded and Fourier transformed to provide estimates for absolute and relative power in the delta, theta, alpha and beta frequency bands, as well as total power and the theta/beta ratio.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article reviews the event-related potential (ERP) literature in relation to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) over the years 2002-2012. ERP studies exploring various aspects of brain functioning in children and adolescents with AD/HD are reviewed, with a focus on group effects and interpretations in the domains of attention, inhibitory control, performance monitoring, non-pharmacological treatments, and ERP/energetics interactions. There has been a distinct shift in research intensity over the past 10 years, with a large increase in ERP studies conducted in the areas of inhibitory control and performance monitoring.
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