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EEG paroxysmal gamma waves during Bhramari Pranayama: A yoga breathing technique.

Vialatte FB, Bakardjian H, Prasad R, Cichocki A

RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Laboratory for Advanced Brain Signal Processing, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-Shi, Saitama-Ken 351-0198, Japan.

Here we report that a specific form of yoga can generate controlled high-frequency gamma waves. For the first time, paroxysmal gamma waves (PGW) were observed in eight subjects practicing a yoga technique of breathing control called Bhramari Pranayama (BhPr). To obtain new insights into the nature of the EEG during BhPr, we analyzed EEG signals using time-frequency representations (TFR), independent component analysis (ICA), and EEG tomography (LORETA). We found that the PGW consists of high-frequency biphasic ripples. This unusual activity is discussed in relation to previous reports on yoga and meditation. It is concluded this EEG activity is most probably non-epileptic, and that applying the same methodology to other meditation recordings might yield an improved understanding of the neurocorrelates of meditation.

Published 26 February 2008 in Conscious Cogn.
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