A growing body of research implicates meditation and mindfulness training for the adaptive training of executive and affective function. While these findings are exciting, it is surprising that far less attention has been paid to the neurophenomenological aspects of meditation practice. We set out to investigate the role of meta-cognitive awareness in mediating affective and …
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Neural and physiological correlates of Tibetan energy-channel meditation in highly trained practitioners
The goal of this grant is to investigate how advanced practitioners of gTum-mo (inner heat) meditation are able to tap into and manipulate the body’s homeostasis mechanisms―classically considered to be beyond voluntary control. In particular, we are interested in how this practice relates to the central and autonomic nervous systems. We propose to measure brain …
Do white matter changes contribute to improved fear extinction following mindfulness training?
It is well-established that the practice of mindfulness meditation leads to improved emotion regulation as well as to changes in brain structure, but relatively little is known about the relationship between these changes. Brain regions found to be impacted by mindfulness training include the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. Interestingly, there is …
EEG spectral signatures of the impact of mindfulness meditation on perceptual-motor awareness and self-agency
We have previously studied the positive impact of mindfulness meditation (MBSR) on perceptual-motor awareness and self-agency. In this present project we aim to study the neural mechanisms underlying these meditation-related positive changes. We specifically aim to study the EEG spectral power and coherence signatures related to visuomotor performance and perceptual-motor awareness before and after an …
Exploring the effects of mindfulness meditation on self-control failure
Research suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may improve psychological wellbeing. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of these interventions are unclear. The present investigation examined the relationship between self-control and mindfulness meditation practice. Self-control, which is positively correlated with wellbeing, is considered a resource that can be depleted: after completing one self-control task, poorer performance typically …
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Focused attention versus open monitoring meditation and self-referential brain processing
The present study assesses the effects on brain processing of a well-characterized self-referential paradigm involving the brain response to hearing self vs. other names in advanced practitioners from meditative traditions towards the ends of the two poles on the meditative spectrum. The assessed practitioners will be from the Himalayan Yoga tradition utilizing focused attention techniques …
Investigating the neural basis of spontaneous thought with real-time fMRI and contemplative mental training
Scientific investigations of human thought usually equate it with only the deliberate, goal-directed mental processes that occur during problem solving and reasoning, while spontaneous thought processes that occur without individuals’ volition or direct control have largely been neglected. Given that spontaneous thought takes up as much as one-third of people’s waking lives, this other side …
Attending to clinical social work practice: Mindful attention as holistic competence background and relevant literature
This study aimed to understand the structure of paying attention to better train mental health clinicians in their client sessions. The study focused on expert meditators who are also psychotherapists because meditators are specifically trained to pay attention to their experience. This study provided rich descriptions of the meditators’ experience using a specific interview method. …
The impact of evaluative vs. experiential self-focus on emotional response
Studies assessing the relationship between self-focus and emotion processing are sparse. Evaluative self-focus may lead to attenuated affective response (Silvia et al, 2000), and is likely to be underpinned by dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation (DMPFC). This is in contrast to non-judgmental, non-evaluative, present moment awareness which is the goal of Mindfulness, and likely to be …
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The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep electrophysiology and duration
I was looking at how meditation affects the sleeping brain. The results were paradoxical, in that the more a person meditates, the better they report sleeping, but the worse they sleep on pretty much any objective measure of worse (as in, measured by polysomnography). I think this points to how meditation creates 24-hour vigilance and …
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