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Brain criticality and advanced meditation "cessation" events: An intensively sampled electroencephalography case study.

Overview

Authors: Remko van Lutterveld1, Thomas Cahaly2, Lukas van Herk1, Daniel M. Ingram3, Matthew D. Sacchet2
ORCID iDs: Remko van Lutterveld, Thomas Cahaly
  1. Brain Research and Innovation Centre and Department of Psychiatry, Ministry of Defence and University Medical Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands
  2. Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
  3. Emergent Phenomena Research Consortium, New Market, AL, USA
Institutions: University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands); Ministry of Defence (Netherlands); Harvard University (United States); Massachusetts General Hospital (United States)
Journal: IBRO neuroscience reports, volume 21, pages 375-385
Dates: received 19 May 2026; accepted 24 July 2026; published online 25 July 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.011 · PMID 42571339 · PMCID PMC13452153 · OpenAlex W4411346386
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Preprint: doi:10.2139/ssrn.5296987
Status: data only
Categories: EEG (modality), cellular / molecular (subfield)
Methods: Spectral & time-frequency, Statistics, Smoothing, state filtering, decompositions, Preprocessing, Complexity, Physiology & signal measures
Keywords: Cessation, Advanced Meditation, Nirodha, Mindfulness, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, Critical Point
Topic: Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions (Clinical Psychology, Psychology), according to OpenAlex
Funding: National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH125850); Tan Teo Charitable Foundation
Citations: cited by 1 paper (Europe PMC); 112 references in the paper

Abstract

Advanced meditation includes meditative endpoints that are outcomes of meditation practice and occur with time and mastery of meditation. The “cessation” event (c.f. nirodha in Theravada Buddhism) is a meditative endpoint characterized by a loss of consciousness followed by a sense of mental reset and deep clarity. In general, organization of brain activity exists along a “criticality” spectrum: order and disorder occupy the extremes, and the critical point, which is thought to represent optimal information processing, is in between. In this exploratory, hypothesis-generating case study, we assessed brain criticality in the 39.9 s pre-cessation to 39.9 s post-cessation window by applying detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to electroencephalography (EEG) data in relation to 37 cessations in a single advanced meditator. Changepoint analysis and linear mixed effects modeling revealed a spike in the whole-brain DFA exponent starting from 11.3 to 3.1 s pre-cessation, suggesting a strengthening of long-range temporal correlations (LRTC) and movement towards the critical point. In addition, a sustained elevation was observed from 3.1 to 23.6 s post-cessation. Linear changepoint analysis effects were most pronounced in central, right frontal, and posterior EEG channels, while frontal channels Fp1, F3, and F7 incurred into supercritical territory surrounding cessations. Additional analysis revealed a temporary drop in the mean DFA exponent around cessation onset relative to immediately surrounding segments. For most channels, the mean DFA exponent reached a time series maximum at 1.0–3.1 s following cessation onset, often near the critical point or just into the supercritical range. These preliminary findings in a single case study, which are consistent with reported phenomenology of cessations, show large-scale modulation in criticality related to cessations.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Version 2, 28 September 2026

  • Authors: added Remko van Lutterveld (0000-0003-1844-0584); Thomas Cahaly (0009-0005-1688-6322); removed Remko van Lutterveld; Thomas Cahaly

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 5 authors, 6 keywords, 2 funders, 101 references.

Cite

This paper

van Lutterveld, R., Cahaly, T., van Herk, L., Ingram, D. M., & Sacchet, M. D. (2026). Brain criticality and advanced meditation "cessation" events: An intensively sampled electroencephalography case study. IBRO neuroscience reports, 21, 375-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.011

BibTeX

@article{vanlutterveld2026brain,
author = {van Lutterveld, Remko and Cahaly, Thomas and van Herk, Lukas and Ingram, Daniel M. and Sacchet, Matthew D.},
title = {{Brain criticality and advanced meditation "cessation" events: An intensively sampled electroencephalography case study}},
journal = {IBRO neuroscience reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
volume = {21},
pages = {375--385},
publisher = {Elsevier},
issn = {2667-2421},
doi = {10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.011},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.011},
pmid = {42571339},
pmcid = {PMC13452153}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - van Lutterveld, Remko
AU - Cahaly, Thomas
AU - van Herk, Lukas
AU - Ingram, Daniel M.
AU - Sacchet, Matthew D.
TI - Brain criticality and advanced meditation "cessation" events: An intensively sampled electroencephalography case study
T2 - IBRO neuroscience reports
J2 - IBRO Neurosci Rep
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/25
VL - 21
SP - 375
EP - 385
SN - 2667-2421
PB - Elsevier
DO - 10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.011
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2026.07.011
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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