What Happens in the Brains of Whirling Dervishes During a Trance State?

Üsküdar University NPİSTANBUL Hospital investigated changes in the functional brain activity of Whirling Dervishes during Sema meditation. In a study co-authored by Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş, the types of changes occurring in the brains of Whirling Dervishes during a trance state were examined for the first time in Turkey. Tarhan stated, “Today, an increasing number of studies are investigating the effects of meditation on the brain using functional neuroimaging techniques. It is important to investigate the effects of meditation on the brain because achieving a mental “meditative” state involves widespread brain activation.” 

Examined for the First Time in Turkey

At Üsküdar University NPİSTANBUL Hospital, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş made statements regarding their study, which examined the changes in functional brain activity, neural activities, and their relationship with emotion in Whirling Dervishes during Sema meditation.
“Information in previous studies was insufficient”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan noted that previous studies suggested that the meditator's experience would affect the strength of brain activations, stating, “Because as a meditator's experience increases, they expend less cognitive effort to reach an ecstatic (trance) state. However, information regarding the emotional state of meditators and its relationship with brain areas activated during meditation is insufficient.”

Whirling Dervishes Mentally Visualized the Sema Turn Inside the MRI Device

In light of all this information, Tarhan stated that the study was conducted with 14 male Whirling Dervishes, saying, “All Whirling Dervishes meditated by mentally visualizing the Sema turn inside the MRI device. In contrast to this, an active control condition was applied to find brain areas specific to Sema meditation. Affective state and psychiatric symptom measurements were collected from participants, and fMRI analyses, statistical parametric maps, were created to compare meditation and control conditions. As a result, activation was observed particularly in the left anterior cingulate cortex and left orbitofrontal area during Sema meditation.”
“There is no study investigating the neuronal correlations of Sema Meditation and the relationship between the meditator's neuronal activations and psychological characteristics”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated, “Although previous studies showed that the meditator's experience was predictive of brain activation, this study found that the affective state is an important factor in facilitating emotion regulation and cognitive observation processes in the brain during meditation,” and emphasized that these findings could also be explained from the perspective of meditation's positive effects on psychological and emotional well-being.

Tarhan stated, “Some traditional focus-based meditations originating from Eastern culture have unique philosophies that ultimately affect a meditator's daily functioning in life, and Sufi Meditation can be considered one of them. Sufism dominates an individual's ego (self-nafs), balances mental and physical experiences, and creates inner harmony (Geoffroy, 2010). Sufism contributes to the regulation of people's mental ego stage and transforms their behavior into a more positive state while calming their moods. To date, there are no studies investigating the neuronal correlations of Sema Meditation and the relationship between the meditator's neuronal activations and psychological characteristics.”

Investigating the Effects of Meditation on the Brain is Important

Noting that the concept of meditation refers to a wide variety of spiritual practices and includes techniques that encourage immediate relaxation and aim to develop well-being and calmness as a long-term goal, Tarhan said, “The Sufi Whirling Dervishes at the heart of Sema Meditation are a physically active form of meditation performed by Whirling Dervishes of Mevlevi order for spiritual purposes. Today, an increasing number of studies are investigating the effects of meditation on the brain using functional neuroimaging techniques. It is important to investigate the effects of meditation on the brain because achieving a mental “meditative” state involves widespread brain activation.”

Not Only the Techniques Used, But Also Experience, Has an Effect on the Brain

Underlining that examining such activations is extremely important for understanding more fundamental issues related to the regulation of mental and emotional states, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated, “This issue can become more challenging when expected to occur during Sufi meditation. Generally, fMRI studies of meditation have found increased activation in brain areas involved in reward processing and emotion regulation, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), cingulate cortex, and thalamus areas. Furthermore, active patterns in the brain have varied in different ways depending on the type of meditation.”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, “Not only the techniques used during meditation, but also the meditator's experience, have an effect on brain activation patterns. Activation in the ACC and DLPFC areas of the brain is explained particularly by the self-focused attention required for meditation. This focus is achieved by disregarding distracting stimuli, actively monitoring one's own mental and cognitive processes, and engaging attention control. According to this explanation, it can be concluded that changes in activity in these brain regions may interfere with the quality of meditation, and this would have effects on the emotional and behavioral benefits of meditation.”

Those Who See Meditation as Tedious May Benefit Less from its Positive Effects

Despite the data obtained, Prof. Dr. Cumhur Taş, a faculty member at Üsküdar University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Mental Health and Diseases, stated that the relationship between the emotional and behavioral characteristics of meditators and activations in their brains during meditation is still unknown, saying, “Investigating this topic is extremely important for revealing the neuronal basis of the meditator's positive and relaxing moods. Furthermore, the relationship between meditation practice and an individual's psychological state has been the subject of few studies. The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate regional brain activations during Sufi Meditation performed in an MRI scanner. Additionally, in this study, we aimed to address whether the activated brain regions are related to the emotional states of individuals performing Sema meditation.”

Taş continued his words as follows:

“Essentially, this study has a two-pronged hypothesis: First, we predicted, in parallel with previous studies, that Sema Meditation could elicit significant brain activations related to self-focused attention, such as in the ACC and DLPFC. Secondly, the strength of these activations could be correlated with the emotional disposition of individuals performing the meditation. Thus, those who perceive meditation as more strenuous might benefit less from its positive effects.”

“Meditation Can Be Perceived as a Self-Inducing Reward Condition”

Noting that their hypotheses were partially confirmed by the results, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated, “We found significant activations in the ACC during meditation compared to the control condition. Furthermore, this study showed a relationship between neuronal efforts during meditation and the psychological state of the Whirling Dervishes. Specifically, participants with greater ACC activation showed less positive affect in this study. In addition to the ACC, the OFC region was significantly activated during meditation. The OFC is primarily involved in reward anticipation and decision-making. fMRI studies have shown that OFC activation is related to the value of both social and monetary rewards. OFC activations have been demonstrated in previous neuroimaging studies on meditation, and this finding suggests that meditation can be perceived as a self-inducing reward condition.”

Tarhan Concluded His Words as Follows:

“In conclusion, this study is the first to investigate the brain correlations of Sema Meditation. In addition to activations in the ACC and OFC, we also found that activations in the ACC might mitigate the effect of Whirling Dervishes' daily positive emotional states. Longer-term research is needed to further investigate the behavioral effects of meditation and to obtain more conclusive results. This is also important for understanding the role of the ACC and related network activity during Sufi Meditation practices, such as the Whirling Dervishes' dance.”

DOI: 10.5455/JNBS.1433752749

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