Table 1.

Overview of Neurophysiological Studies on Mindfulness using EEG Discussed in the Present Review. Note. State mindfulness = mindfulness induced by meditation; Trait mindfulness = dispositional mindfulness during resting state; ERD = event-related desynchronization; ERS = event-related synchronisation; ERP = event-related potential; OM = open monitoring; FA = focused attention; LPP = late positive potentials; MBCT = mindfulness-based cognitive therapy; MBT = mindfulness-based training; MBSR = mindfulness-based stress reduction. In studies where various meditation styles were examined, the results reported are those relevant to the meditation in bold font.

Study	Sample (Meditators/Control)	Form of Mindfulness/Meditation	EEG Analyses	Findings
Amihai and Kozhevnikov (2014) [72]	10 long-term Theravada meditators (average 8 years of practice)/9 long-term Vajrayana meditators (average 7.4 years of practice)	Theraveda: Vipassana (OM), Kasina (FA); Vajrayana: Deity (OM), Rig-pa (FA)	Spectral power; Coherence	↑ gamma power during Vipassana vs. rest in left hemisphere.
Atchley et al. (2016) [73]	13 non-meditators/15 novice meditators/14 experienced meditators	Mindfulness-based breath counting during tone task	ERP	↑ P3 amplitudes among meditators (novice and experienced) in comparison to non-meditators, in tone-only task (tones as target) ↓ P3 amplitudes among meditators (novice and experienced) in comparison to non-meditators, when engaged in mindfulness-based breath counting during tone task (tones as distractor)
Berkovich-Ohana et al. (2012) [74]	36 mindfulness meditators/12 novice controls	Mindfulness meditation (state mindfulness); Resting state (trait mindfulness)	Spectral power	↓ trait, frontal gamma power (mostly, right lateralized) ↑ trait and state, temporal and parieto-occipital gamma power (mostly, right lateralized)
Berkovich-Ohana et al. (2013) [75]	36 mindfulness meditators/12 novice controls	Mindfulness meditation (state mindfulness); Resting state (trait mindfulness)	Mean Phase Coherence (MPC)	↓ trait, right hemisphere theta MPC ↓ trait, left hemisphere gamma MPC among long-term meditators Negative correlation between trait, left gamma MPC, and meditation expertise
Braboszcz et al. (2017) [76]	20 Vipassana/20 Himalayan Yoga/27 Isha Shoonya/32 Control	Vipassana, Himalayan Yoga, Isha Shoonya	Spectral power	↑ parieto-occipital gamma power gamma power positively correlated with meditation experience
Brown et al. (2012) [77]	46 psychology undergraduates (within-subjects design)	Dispositional mindfulness	ERP	↓ LPP amplitude among individuals higher in mindfulness, in response to high arousal, unpleasant pictures
Cahn et al. (2010) [78]	16 long-term meditators (within-subjects design)	Vipassana meditation	Spectral power	↑ frontal theta power ↑ parieto-occipital gamma power occipital gamma power greatest among advanced/ long-term meditators (i.e., 10+ years)
Cahn et al. (2012) [79]	16 long-term meditators (within-subjects design)	Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation	Spectral power; Coherence	↑ gamma power ↑ gamma power in frontal, central, and parietal sites in long-term meditators ↑ frontal gamma coherence (for longer-term meditators) ↑ theta coherence
Delgado-Pastor et al. (2013) [80]	10 experienced meditators (within-subjects design)	Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation	ERP	↑ P3b amplitudes to a target tone
Eddy et al. (2015) [81]	24 participants (within-subjects design)	Induced mindfulness (through focused breathing)	ERP	Induced mindfulness (i.e., decentering) correlated with ↓ P300 amplitudes for negative vs. neutral images
Egan et al. (2017) [82]	118 adult sample (within-subjects design)	Brief mindfulness instructions	ERP	↑ LPP amplitude in brief mindfulness instructions
Hauswald et al. (2015) [83]	11 meditators (within-subjects design)	Zen	Spectral power	↑ gamma power ↓ frontal theta power
Lakey et al. (2011) [84]	9 naïve meditators/9 control	Short, 6 minutes mindfulness induction	ERP	↑ P300 amplitude in central and temporal electrodes
Lehmann et al. (2012) [85]	13 Tibetan Buddhists/15 QiGong practitioners/14 Sahaja Yoga practitioners/14 Ananda Marga Yoga practitioners/15 Zen practitioners	Various (including Zen)	Spectral power; Lagged intracortical coherence; Head-surface conventional coherence	↑ gamma power during meditation vs. resting as averaged across groups ↑ theta head-surface conventional coherence in meditation vs. initial resting in Zen ↓ lagged intracortical coherence during meditation vs. resting (for all meditation tradition) in all frequency bands
Lutz et al. (2004) [86]	8 long-term Buddhist practitioners/10 healthy student volunteers	Loving kindness and compassion-focused meditation	Spectral power; Coherence	↑ gamma power in bilateral pareito-temporal and midfrontal electrodes ↑ ratio of gamma power to low frequency power (4–13 Hz: Theta and Alpha) at medial frontoparietal electrodes at initial baseline; at frontolateral and posterior electrodes during meditation; and at anterior electrodes at post-meditative baseline ↑ size of gamma coherence over lateral frontoparietal electrodes Positive correlation between hours of meditation and gamma power at initial baseline
Miltz et al. (2014) [87]	23 naïve meditators (within-subjects design)	Breath counting (indicative of a meditative state)	Spectral power; Lagged intracortical coherence; Head-surface conventional coherence	↓ theta intracortical lagged coherence between left middle frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule ↓ theta intracortical lagged coherence between left middle frontal gyrus and right cunues ↑ gamma head-surface conventional coherence within the left anterior region
Slagter et al. (2007) [88]	17 participants/23 control (mixed design)	3-month meditation (Vipassana) retreat	ERP	↓ P3b amplitude to distractor stimuli
Sobolewski et al. (2011) [89]	13 meditators/13 control	Mindfulness meditation	ERP	↓ LPP amplitude in frontal scalp regions to negatively valence visual stimuli
van Leeuwen et al. (2012) [90]	8 Buddhist monks and nuns/8 control 8 experienced FA meditators/6 controls (mixed design)	Zen (FA and OM meditation practices) 4-day OM meditation retreat	ERP ERP	↑ P300 amplitude in processing of small-sized targets (which is embedded within larger targets) in meditators only In the processing of larger-sized targets, ↑ P300 amplitude in both meditators and control Decreased attention processing towards detailed (small) targets from pre-retreat to post-retreat.
Wong et al. (2018) [91]	36 nurses (longitudinal design)	8-week MBT (based on MBSR)	Spectral power; ERP	↑ P300 amplitude