Meditation boosts gamma waves
IISc Bangalore shared research showing long‑term meditators exhibit stronger gamma brain activity and healthier inhibitory neural circuits — findings framed as potentially protective against age‑related decline []. The post underlines measurable neurophysiological differences tied to sustained practice, not just subjective wellbeing [].
The paper Simultaneous enhancement of stimulus‑induced and stimulus‑free gamma in open‑eye meditators)) — authored by Ankan Biswas, Srishty Aggarwal, Kanishka Sharma and Supratim Ray — appears in Imaging Neuroscience (2026). (mitp.silverchair-cdn.com) Researchers recorded EEG from 29 long‑term meditators and matched non‑meditator controls during an open‑eye protocol that presented gamma‑inducing visual stimuli before, during, and after meditation [29 meditators]. (biorxiv.org) Both stimulus‑induced narrowband gamma (30–70 Hz) and stimulus‑free broadband gamma (>25 Hz) showed higher power in the meditator group [gamma frequency bands]. (biorxiv.org) Source reconstruction localized stimulus‑induced gamma to occipital visual areas and meditation‑related broadband gamma to fronto‑temporo‑parietal regions, with parietal effects stronger in meditators [source localization]. (mitp.silverchair-cdn.com) Meditators also exhibited a steeper power‑spectral‑density (PSD) or 1/f slope — a measure that typically flattens with age and that the authors interpret as reflecting stronger inhibitory circuitry [PSD slope]. (biorxiv.org) Self‑report scales showed meditators scored higher on mindfulness and mystical experience and lower on stress, but none of those questionnaire scores correlated with gamma power in the EEG data [questionnaire results]. (mitp.silverchair-cdn.com) The IISc NeurOscillations lab lists this work as part of an ongoing effort (ProjectDhyaan) to test whether meditation‑linked gamma markers can track or slow age‑related neural decline and neurodegeneration [ProjectDhyaan]. (cns.iisc.ac.in)
