| Reference code: | PT/FB/BL-2020-293.02 |
| Location: | BF-GMS
|
Title:
| Decoding the self: Single-trial prediction of self-boundary meditation states from magnetoencephalography recordings
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| Publication year: | 2026
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URL:
| https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70440
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| Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
The sense of self is a multidimensional feature of human experience. Different dimensions of self-experience can change drastically during altered states of consciousness induced through meditation or psychedelic drugs, as well as in a variety of mental disorders. Some experienced meditation practitioners are able to modulate their sense of self deliberately, which allows for a direct comparison between an active and suspended sense of self. Meditation therefore has the potential to serve as a model-system for alterations in the sense of self. The current study aims to identify a neural marker of such meditation-induced alterations in the sense of self based on magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings of meditation practitioners (N = 41). Participants alternated between a state of reduced sense of self, termed self-boundary dissolution, a resting state and a control meditation state of maintaining their sense of self. Machine learning methods were used to find multivariate patterns of brain activity which distinguish these states on a single-trial basis. Source band power and Lempel-Ziv complexity features allowed to predict the mental state from MEG recordings with significantly above-chance accuracy (> 0.5). The highest performance was obtained for the self-boundary dissolution versus rest classification based on Lempel-Ziv complexity, which showed an average accuracy of ~0.64 when training and testing were performed on data from the same individual (within-participant prediction) and ~0.57 when models trained on one group of individuals were tested on different participants (across-participant prediction). Potential applications include decoded neurofeedback, for example, for clinical treatments of disorders of the sense of self, or for assistance in meditation training.
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| Accessibility: | Document exists in file
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Language:
| eng
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Author:
| Röhr, H.
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Secondary author(s):
| Atad, D. A., Trautwein, F., Mediano, P. A. M., Dor-Ziderman, Y.
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Document type:
| Article
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Number of reproductions:
| 3
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Reference:
| Röhr, H., Atad, D. A., Trautwein, F., Mediano, P. A. M., & Dor-Ziderman, Y. (2026). Decoding the self: Single-trial prediction of self-boundary meditation states from magnetoencephalography recordings. Human Brain Mapping, 47, e70440. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70440
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| 2-year Impact Factor: | 3.3|2024
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| Impact factor notes: | Impact factor not available yet for 2025
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| Times cited: | 0|2026-02-17
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| Indexed document: | Yes
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| Quartile: | Q1
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| Keywords: | Sense of self / Self-boundary dissolution / Meditation / Altered states of consciousness
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Decoding the self: Single-trial prediction of self-boundary meditation states from magnetoencephalography recordings |