Psychometric and psychobiological correlates of altered states of consciousness elicited by Vipassana Analytical and Open Monitoring meditation

Introduction: In the scientific field of Contemplative Neuroscience, the term “mindfulness meditation” usually refers to the practice of Open Monitoring meditation, which aims at developing the ability to observe mental contents with non-judgment, non-reaction, and non-attachment. However, mindfulness practice often comprises Vipassana Analytical meditation, which points at gaining deep insights into reality, following principles present in Buddhist tradition and teachings (e.g. compassion, impermanence). Despite their frequent use in clinical and non-clinical settings, little is known about the similarities and differences between these two meditation techniques, in terms of their psychophysiological substrate, and their elicited altered state of consciousness. Methods: 14 healthy volunteers (3 females) with mean age of 45 years (SD=13.49), long-term meditators (with a mean of 8575 hours of practice), participants in the Masters Program at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (PI), were involved in two meditation sessions, one Open Monitoring meditation and one Vipassana Analytical meditation on impermanence. High-density EEG, ECG and respirogram were registered before, during, and after both conditions. Psychometric data regarding the state of consciousness (Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory), dissociative states (Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale) and depth of meditation (Meditation Depth Questionnaire) were collected after both sessions. For measuring the effects of each meditation, data were analysed with paired t-test, while for measuring differences between the two meditations, data were analysed using independent-samples t-test. Results: Both meditation techniques are related to subjective perception of being in an altered state of consciousness (p<0.01), characterized by increased joy (p<0.05), distorted time sense (p<0.05), increased sacred meaning attributed to the experience (p<0.001), and increased dissociative-like symptoms (p<0.01), as compared to their respective baseline. Regarding distinctive effects, Analytical Meditation is related to increased voluntary control of thoughts (i.e. control of conscious contents) (p<0.05), while Open Monitoring meditation is related to altered body perception (i.e. body expansion) (p<0.01). At the EEG level, preliminary descriptive data related to a selected subset of subjects reveal that Vipassana Analytical and Open Monitoring meditation are characterized by different topological distributions of spectral power for each EEG band (from delta to gamma). Conclusion: Vipassana Analytical and Open Monitoring meditation are two distinct techniques eliciting different altered states of consciousness, sustained by specific psychobiological correlates.