Neural architecture of the jhānas: a gamma-infraslow duet with quantum overtones

Building on previous electrophysiological investigations that posited meditative absorption (jhāna) as a radical disruption of sensory default consciousness (DCs), this study explores the underlying non-linear neural architectures and state transitions. Re-analysis of long-duration ( n = 18) DC-stabilized records reveals that alpha spindles index three distinct developmental stages of the first jhāna, reflecting attentional mastery through vitakka (directed attention) and vicāra (sustained attention). A broadband (0.005–150 Hz) 3D eLoreta source analysis of a major 4,000 µV relaxation-oscillation (R-O) transition into the second jhāna, confirms the active silencing of fronto-temporal linguistic networks, leading to the profound mental stillness characteristic of higher absorption states. This macro state transition is driven by a near-absolute variance concentration of infraslow rhythms localized to the midline vertex ( z = 70) supplementary motor area (SMA), supported by a lateralized left-hemisphere temporal and visual-gating gamma network. As the jhāna hierarchy deepens, the brain recruits an unprecedented electrophysiological dynamic range. Spanning four orders of magnitude in time (10 2 –10 −2 s) bridging the absolute physical boundaries of human neurobiology, this architecture couples high-amplitude infraslow carriers (2,000–4,000 µV) to ultra-fast gamma microbursts (100–200 µV). This coordinated gamma–infraslow duet constructs an impenetrable, low-entropy Markov blanket, actively insulating the internal cognitive field from sensory perturbation while maintaining waking alertness. Concurrently, the 600-fold deceleration of cortical rhythms at the vertex facilitates heightened synchrony with visceral neurovascular systems. At critical R-O inflection thresholds, brief (1–2 s) global high-gamma microbursts function as inhibitory sweeps across left-lateralized hubs (BA 47, BA 21/22/38), dismantling emerging inner speech to protect absorptive stability. The study further demonstrates that the jhāna hierarchy follows a scale-free trajectory distinct from the θ, α, β frequency bands of default sensory consciousness (DCs), bypassing the 1 Hz deep-sleep transition, replacing nested sensory Markov blankets with a singular global boundary at the fourth-jhāna limit—a system with intriguing similarities to noise-shielded quantum “superposition.” We conclude that jhāna consciousness (JCs) constitutes an autonomous and previously unrecognized, highly structured second-tier of human consciousness, rather than an altered state of (sensory) consciousness (ASC).