Inter-Brain Synchronization in the Practice of Tibetan Monastic Debate
By Marieke K. van Vugt, Joshua Pollock, Bryce Johnson, Kalden Gyatso, Ngawang Norbu and others
15 pagesConsistent with the idea that analytical meditation helps to train concentration, we observed that over the course of the debate, mid-frontal theta oscillations—a correlate of absorption—increased significantly. This increase was stronger for more experienced monks as compared to monks at the beginning of their education. In addition, we found evidence for increases in synchrony in frontal alpha oscillations between paired debaters during moments of agreement as compared to disagreement on a set of premises.