Clinical evidence suggests that MBCT is an effective intervention to prevent relapse in major depression. The mechanisms underlying the positive effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on different forms of human suffering have been studied extensively in healthy populations. However, little has been done to extend this research to study the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying …
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Making the right choice: Combining neuroimaging, computational modelling, and first-person report methodologies to unveil neural mechanisms of human flourishing
While the combined use of computational modelling and experimental techniques in neuroscience has been fruitful for studying decision-making, it has mostly focused on general principles of reward-based decision-making and has not been utilized to examine wider implications for human well-being. On the other hand, the emerging field of positive psychology has provided a framework for …
Mechanisms of Meditation and Consequences for Clinical Practice
Mindfulness and meditation are increasingly used in clinical practice to treat conditions such as depression, anxiety and addiction. However, the fundamental mechanisms underlying these practices are not yet well-known and theoretical frameworks are sparse. Two important explanatory mechanisms that will be considered in this workshop are sticky thinking (cognitive fusion) and the sense of self. …
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Core Measures for Mindfulness Studies
We aim to develop a set of recommended “core measures” for mindfulness-based intervention research that can strengthen individual studies and facilitate pooled data analyses and meta-analyses. While most studies require study specific outcome measures, there are domains that are appropriate to measure across studies. These includes self-report measures of important common outcomes (e.g. stress and …
Microphenomenology and Contemplative Experience: Exploring the Intra- and Intersubjective Dynamics of Language and Embodied Experience
We will host a two-day meeting of scholars from the humanities and sciences and contemplative practitioners to explore and develop the use of microphenomenology in the study, practice and application of contemplative practice. The meeting will bring together core members of the PhenoPilot project, with a small group of other scholars and practitioners in order …
Intrinsic neural characteristics predict the effectiveness of MBSR training on fear extinction and stress reduction
The proposed research aims to derive individual neural characteristics from data-driven analysis of resting state fMRI to predict the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training on fear extinction and stress reduction. This project aims to capture the individual variability in the amplitudes of spontaneous brain activity and neural network properties, and relate such variability …
Can supercharged memory consolidation during sleep boost compassion and pro-sociality?
Recent advances in memory research indicate that cognitive processing during sleep supports memory storage (e.g., Paller & Voss, 2004; Born, 2010). In recent studies from our lab, individual memories were strengthened through memory reactivation achieved by presenting task-associated sounds during sleep (Rudoy et al., 2009; Creery et al., in preparation). Here, we propose to use …
An investigation of the impact of mindfulness training on the development of attention and working memory in children
The PI will recruit a mentor teacher (with a minimum of 5 years of teaching experience and 1 year of practicing mindfulness) from a school where at least 10 classroom teachers are willing to be assigned to a mindfulness or control condition. The mentor teacher will collect data from computerized measures on attention and working …
Effects of open monitoring on visual search: Evidence from eye-tracking, electrophysiology, and phenomenology
Whereas many studies have explored the impact of meditative training on the ability to sustain a narrow attentional focus, few have investigated the impact of such training on the ability to expand the window of attention. The present study will investigate the influence of long-term open-monitoring (OM) practice on visual attention. In line with contemplative …
Brain mechanisms distinguishing mindfulness meditation-related pain relief from placebo analgesia
We will assess if mindfulness-meditation reduces pain above and beyond the indirect effects associated with these constructs by employing robust comparison conditions (i.e., placebo conditioning, active control intervention). The study under proposed fellowship will provide unique insight into the brain mechanisms supporting modulation of pain by mindfulness meditation and placebo conditioning, an important step in …
