Effects on regional cerebral blood flow of transcendental meditation.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Uncontrolled physiological study without a stated control group
PubMed 8700938 · doi:10.1016/0031-9384(95)02006-3
What was done
Frontal and occipital regional cerebral blood flow was monitored noninvasively during Transcendental Meditation using rheoencephalography, an electrical impedance plethysmography technique. Sleep stages were also observed to determine whether sleep contributed to blood flow changes.
What was found
The authors reported increased frontal and occipital cerebral blood flow and decreased cerebrovascular resistance during Transcendental Meditation, noting a high correlation between the two. Minimal stage 1 sleep was observed. The abstract contains no numerical measurements, effect sizes, or statistical values.
Why it matters
The study suggests that increases in systemic blood flow during meditation may involve elevated cerebral perfusion driven by reduced cerebrovascular resistance rather than sleep.
Limits
The abstract does not report sample size, participant characteristics, or quantitative data. There is no randomized or non-meditating control group, and rheoencephalography is an indirect measure of cerebral perfusion.
Cited by
- supports During meditation, brain electrical activity starts altering within 30 seconds and cerebral blood flow changes within 5 to 10 minutes.