Field: Medical/Neuro Science
Session Topic:
Meditation and the Brain
Speaker:
Manabu Honda/National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
1. Introduction
Meditation is an important category within "altered states of consciousness (ASC)" induced by the
alteration of brain function into an unusual phase. To understand the biological basis of ASC, which is
frequently observed in many traditional Asian societies with rice cultivation, from the viewpoint of
brain science, the model (Table) proposed by Dr. Tsutomu Oohashi, a Japanese scientist, is noteworthy.
Namely, since René Descartes separated "mind" and "matter", environment recognition tends to depend
solely on perceptible information in modern Western society. In this culture, a phase of consciousness
has been thought to be basically uniform and continuous throughout life. Thus ASC is often considered
as a kind of pathological phenomenon. By contrast, in many traditional Asian societies with rice
cultivation, "mind" and "matter" are often considered as an inseparable and incorporated entity and
environment recognition depends on both perceptible and imperceptible information. In these societies,
it is widely recognized that consciousness can have multiple phases, among which transition may occur.
Reflecting this notion, methodologies effectively inducing ASC have been well developed and utilized
as a strategy for survival. To validate this model, naturally induced possession trance often observed in a
traditional society of Bali Island, Indonesia, is a good target for study.
Table. Contrasts of approaches to altered state of consciousness (ASC) between modern
Western society and traditional Asian society with rice-cultivation
Fluidity of
consciousness
Recognition of
ASC
Environment
recognition
Distance
between mind
and physical
object
Modern Western society
A phase of consciousness in the brain is
uniform and continuous throughout life.
Generally recognized as deviation from
physiological state and often considered
as a pathological phenomenon.
Solely depend on perceptible information
"Consciousness" and "extension" are
regarded as separate and independent.
Traditional Asian society with rice-cultivation
Multiple phases of consciousness, including
ordinary and unordinary one, exist in the brain.
Transition may occur among them.
Widely recognized as an effective strategy for
survival.
Depend on "meta-perception" combining
perception and supra-perception.
"Information" and "substance" are recognized as
a unified and incorporated entity.
2. Physiological study on Balinese possession trance in the field
During the climax scene of ritual ceremonies in Bali, possession trances called Kerauhan, which are
typical ASC, are frequently observed in many healthy people. Although this phenomenon has drawn
considerable attention since the historical study using film recording by Margaret Mead and Gregory
Bateson, its real existence has not been proven scientifically. We have succeeded, for the first time, in
showing that the state of the brain function was altered into an unusual mode during possession trances
using physiological recordings in the field. First we have been working for more than ten years to
establish mutual trust with local communities so as to be allowed access to subjects participating in
sacred ritual ceremonies. We recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) from rigorously moving subjects
during the trance state in the field using a portable multi-channel EEG telemetry system that we
originally developed for this purpose. In the trance subjects compared with controls, the power of the
theta and alpha frequency bands of spontaneous EEG increased significantly. Enhancement of these
components remained for several minutes after recovering from the trance state (Oohashi et al., 2002).
We also measured the plasma concentration of several neuroactive substances before and after the
trance state. The trance subjects exhibited significant increase in plasma concentrations of -endorphin,
dopamine and noradrenalin, which are considered as "endogenous drug", compared with controls who
performed the similar actions (Kawai et al., 2001).
3. Activation of the reward-generating neuronal system by trance-inducing auditory information
It was reported that ASC including naturally induced possession trances were observed in healthy
people more than 90 % of human societies. Since most of them are induced without using any
psychoactive drugs, it is suggested that, in addition to some psychological factors, auditory and visual
information with a specific signal structure may induce some alteration of human brain function as a
background of ASC. We found that the music instrumental sound used in Balinese ritual ceremonies, in
which ASC are often observed, contained a conspicuous amount of inaudible high-frequency
component above the upper limit of human audible range. Our neuroimaging studies revealed that
sounds containing inaudible high-frequency component, compared with the otherwise identical sounds
from which the inaudible high-frequency component was excluded, activated the reward-generating
neuronal system and enhanced the power of alpha-EEG (Oohashi et al., 2000). In addition, the activity
of the reward-generating neuronal system showed significant positive correlation with the power of
alpha-EEG.
These findings suggest that possession trances observed in Bali, one form of ASC, involve the
altered brain function through the activation of the reward-generating neuronal system induced by
auditory information containing supra-perceptible component. It also supports the notion from a
physiological point of view that consciousness has multiple modes among which transition may occur
from a physiological point of view.
4. Discussion
The methodologies to induce and utilize ASC have been intentionally and empirically developed in
traditional Asian societies and ASC's positive effects have been verified in the long history. In the
modern society, however, the objective validation based on natural science is essential for a convincing
explanation of the very existence of ASC and its effect. From this viewpoint, a unique activity of the
scientist Dr. Oohashi, who foreseeingly performed the series of above studies, is noteworthy.
Through his experience and intuition based on Asian tradition, he had an insight that the possession
trance in Bali may occur through the activation of the reward-generating neuronal system by auditory
and visual information including humanly imperceptible components. Then he made a scientifically
verifiable model and examined it using cutting-edge techniques of life science. He also performed
prominent works in various fields. Many of his works could not be achieved solely by the conventional
scientific knowledge or its combination.
The background of his works lays in his unique and unexampled activity in which Asian traditional
wisdoms, consisting of empirical knowledge and tacit knowing, are united with the scientific knowledge
originated from modern Western societies in a single personality. Interestingly, this activity did not
incidentally arise just from his gifted quality, but was intentionally constructed based on a well-designed
planning about activity-development. Such a new paradigm regarding construction of a human activity
originated from Asian tradition should be a promising prototype useful for approaching many important
but unsolved problems in the modern science, for example, overcoming the Cartesian "mind" and
"matter" dualism and reviving the recognition of meta-perceptive information that the modern
civilization has discarded.
Conclusion
Altered state of consciousness frequently observed in traditional Asian societies with rice cultivation
involves the alteration of brain function based on the activation of the reward-generating neuronal
system by sensory information containing components beyond human perception.
References
Kawai N, Honda M, Nakamura S, Samatra P, Sukardika K, Nakatani Y, Shimojo N, Oohashi T (2001)
Catecholamines and opioid peptides increase in plasma in humans during possession trances.
Neuroreport 12:3419-3423.
Oohashi T, Kawai N, Honda M, Nakamura S, Morimoto M, Nishina E, Maekawa T (2002)
Electroencephalographic measurement of possession trance in the field. Clin Neurophysiol
113:435-445.
Oohashi T, Nishina E, Honda M, Yonekura Y, Fuwamoto Y, Kawai N, Maekawa T, Nakamura S,
Fukuyama H, Shibasaki H (2000) Inaudible high-frequency sounds affect brain activity: hypersonic
effect. J Neurophysiol 83:3548-3558.