EEG Oscillations in Guided Mindfulness versus Mind-Wandering in Young Adults: Effects of Auditory Task Instruction and Naturalistic Video
- 1University of Oregon
Abstract
Alpha and theta band EEG oscillations have been implicated in states of mindfulness meditation. However, results are inconsistent and the influence of testing environment variables is not well-characterized. We used EEG to measure the amplitude of brain oscillations in a mindful-attention versus mind-wandering condition, in which guided auditory instructions were interleaved with periods of silence, with and without accompanying naturalistic video projections. We generated precise measures of alpha and theta in a sample of 20 young-adult non-expert meditators, by identifying each participant's individual alpha peak frequency (IAF) from posterior EEG electrodes and using it to define four individualized frequency bands: two low alpha bands (in 2 Hz increments below the IAF), one upper alpha band (from IAF to 2 Hz above IAF), and one theta band (4 Hz - 6 Hz below IAF). We found that the mindfulness manipulation significantly increased power in alpha ranging between 2 Hz below to 2 Hz above IAF, including peak alpha amplitude, compared with mind-wandering. Meanwhile, central theta amplitude was larger when auditory instructions were on versus off, and naturalistic video did not reliably modulate the EEG effects of mindfulness. We conclude that the acute effects of mindfulness in non-expert meditators are most consistently observed as increases of posterior alpha-band activity, and that auditory task-instructions should be accounted for in studies of guided meditation. Observed alpha increases may reflect induced states of calm or relaxation induced by mindfulness practice, as proposed in previous studies. These results may apply to mindfulness training or biofeedback therapies.
Related
- Mindfulness-Based Instruction Does Not Improve Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Efficiency in Problematic Alcohol Use
- Social vision expands into auditory cortices of people born deaf: evidence from naturalistic film and encoding models
- Human perception of avian biodiversity in naturalistic auditory scenes
- Simple calls to increase effort influence attention, mind wandering, and learning during online lectures
- Variation in CURE instruction and limitations of CURE studies undermine what can be concluded about CURE effects on student outcomes
BibTeX
@misc{brown2026oscillations,
title = {{EEG Oscillations in Guided Mindfulness versus Mind-Wandering in Young Adults: Effects of Auditory Task Instruction and Naturalistic Video}},
author = {D. A. Brown and K. E. Schultz and F. Simmons and C. Parker and K. Knute and N. C. Swann and C. M. Karns},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.28.747724},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747724v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - EEG Oscillations in Guided Mindfulness versus Mind-Wandering in Young Adults: Effects of Auditory Task Instruction and Naturalistic Video
AU - D. A. Brown
AU - K. E. Schultz
AU - F. Simmons
AU - C. Parker
AU - K. Knute
AU - N. C. Swann
AU - C. M. Karns
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.28.747724
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747724v1
AB - Alpha and theta band EEG oscillations have been implicated in states of mindfulness meditation. However, results are inconsistent and the influence of testing environment variables is not well-characterized. We used EEG to measure the amplitude of brain oscillations in a mindful-attention versus mind-wandering condition, in which guided auditory instructions were interleaved with periods of silence, with and without accompanying naturalistic video projections. We generated precise measures of alpha and theta in a sample of 20 young-adult non-expert meditators, by identifying each participant's individual alpha peak frequency (IAF) from posterior EEG electrodes and using it to define four individualized frequency bands: two low alpha bands (in 2 Hz increments below the IAF), one upper alpha band (from IAF to 2 Hz above IAF), and one theta band (4 Hz - 6 Hz below IAF). We found that the mindfulness manipulation significantly increased power in alpha ranging between 2 Hz below to 2 Hz above IAF, including peak alpha amplitude, compared with mind-wandering. Meanwhile, central theta amplitude was larger when auditory instructions were on versus off, and naturalistic video did not reliably modulate the EEG effects of mindfulness. We conclude that the acute effects of mindfulness in non-expert meditators are most consistently observed as increases of posterior alpha-band activity, and that auditory task-instructions should be accounted for in studies of guided meditation. Observed alpha increases may reflect induced states of calm or relaxation induced by mindfulness practice, as proposed in previous studies. These results may apply to mindfulness training or biofeedback therapies.
ER -