A PROCESS MODEL OF MANTRA MEDITATION

Lack of theoretical approach in mantra meditation has resulted in a poor understanding of the psychological processes underlying the effects of mantra meditation and has made it difficult to know what to expect out of mantra meditation practice. The scientific literature behind mantra meditation lacks models of how it should work, resulting in an ongoing discussion about its categorization with focussed attention and other practices. We propose a novel mechanism by which mantra meditation has its effects on cognitive and affective function. We show how mantra meditation involves neural entrainment and is able to predict which specific cognitive and affective function would be enhanced by its practice. We connect the dots from music, meditation and brain oscillation literature to propose our model and test it through behavioral and EEG experiments.