Heartbeat-Evoked Potentials as a Neural Marker of Meditative Depth

Meditation is suggested to enhance psychological well-being through sustained cultivation of interoceptive attention and emotion regulation, yet objective neurophysiological markers of meditative depth remain inconsistent and largely CNS-focused, overlooking interoceptive mechanisms. Heartbeat-evoked potentials (HEPs)—cortical responses to cardiac signals—offer a psychophysiological index of interoceptive awareness and attentional states. This study investigated whether HEPs systematically track self-reported meditation depth in expert Vipassana practitioners, a tradition emphasizing the coupling of sustained bodily attention with non-reactivity. Thirty expert Vipassana meditators completed two sessions of 35-minute silent meditation with simultaneous ECG and 64-channel scalp EEG recordings. Self-reported meditation depth was assessed via real-time ratings. HEPs were extracted (−200 to 800ms relative to R-peak) and analyzed using ANOVAs and cluster-based permutation testing across five meditative depth levels. Mixed linear models examined associations between HEP amplitude range (high vs. low depth) and post-session psychological outcomes. HEPs robustly tracked meditation depth, with channel C3 showing significant variations across depth levels (p=2.22e-118, η²=5.55). Greater HEP modulation correlated with reduced mood disturbance (p = 7.06e-10), increased vigor (p=3.84e-23), decreased fatigue (p=2.28e-02), and enhanced decentering (p=1.25e-06). Notably, these neural dynamics did not covary with traditional meditation tracking metrics like frontal-midline theta power. HEPs provide a novel, ecologically valid, personalized neural index of meditation depth, linking interoception with contemplative state changes. We propose that sustained HEP enhancements, reflecting heightened cardio-cortical modulation, may underlie the therapeutic efficacy of meditation-based interventions, particularly for psychopathologies involving disrupted interoception.