The International journal of neuroscience
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effects of the transcendental mediation technique and progressive muscle relaxation on EEG coherence, stress reactivity, and mental health in black adults.
Eighty-three black college students, staff and adults were pretested on EEG coherence, skin potential (SP) habituation to a series of loud tones, psychometric measures of mental health (Tennessee Self-Concept Empirical Scales and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and IQ. They were then randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups: the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM); Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PR); or cognitive-behavioral strategies (C). Approximately one year later, they were posttested. ⋯ The coherence increases during TM were most marked in the right hemisphere (F4C4). TM showed faster SP habituation at posttest compared to pretest (p less than .047) whereas PR did not (data was missing for C). None of the groups showed longitudinal changes in EEG, perhaps due to lack of regularity of participation in the treatment programs.