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 …
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Mindfulness-based education in the elementary school classroom: Individual and joint effects of a teacher and student program on children’s classroom behaviors, peer relations, classroom hierarchy, and stress reactivity
The purpose of my study is to investigate the single and joint effects of a mindfulness education program for children (MIndUp) and a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for teachers (SMART-in-Education) on elementary school children’s social and emotional well-being, classroom behaviors, and stress reactivity, and academic achievement. This study will contribute to the question of whether …
How mindfulness impacts selective attention during emotional challenge
Emotional reactivity, the negative response to stress, is a rare predictor of relapse risk following recovery from MDD. ‘Trait’ mindfulness, the tendency to non-judgmentally engage with experience, has been linked to lower levels of emotional reactivity in a community sample, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has shown initial promise in reducing the risk of depressive …
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The effectiveness of MBSR as an intervention among elderly family caregivers of persons with neurocognitive disorders
Providing care for a frail older adult is a stressful experience that may affect psychological and physical health of caregivers. When caregivers are elderly and the care recipient suffers from a neurocognitive disorder such as dementia, the burden and resulting stress is greatly increased. Many interventions involving support groups, counseling, and education have been implemented …
Development of mindfulness-based real-time fMRI neurofeedback for smoking cessation: A preliminary study
We evaluated the effects of mindfulness on impulsivity during smoking cessation. Current methods for self-reporting formal mindfulness practice are inaccurate, so we used accelerometer-based watches to monitor formal mindfulness practice testing. In this study, we attempted to replicate the Yale trial comparing Mindfulness Training (MT) to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation. We randomized …
Effects of short-term mindfulness intervention on depression and immunity
This study aimed to examine the longitudinal effects of a short-term mindfulness intervention on psychological and immune variables in a student sample with moderate depressive symptoms. 64 college females were assigned to a mindfulness intervention group or a contact-control condition. Participants received three separate assessments: (a) before treatment initiation (baseline), (b) following treatment completion (6-week …
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Mindfulness and response inhibition: Behavioral, neural and subjective correlates in smoking cessation
We conducted a study to see how a very short mindfulness training would affect smokers who were trying to quit. We wanted to know whether <20 minutes of instruction would affect peoples’ cigarette cravings and what the brain mechanisms might be. In this study, we invited smokers who were about to participate in a mindfulness-based …
Exploring the impact of meditation on stress and psychopathology: Attentional allocation as a potential mechanism of active change following meditation training
Attentional function is one possible mechanism underlying meditation’s impact on stress and psychopathology, but few studies examine this newly discovered factor. Attentional allocation, in the context of cognitive and emotional self-regulation, may underlie changes observed following meditation training and practice. Additionally, meditation’s potential to ameliorate subjective and biochemical reactions to an acute stressor remains unexplored. …
School-based mindfulness training in middle school and college students
The aim of this multi-investigator award was to assess the effects of school-based mindfulness training in two different educational settings: college students and middle schoolers. Because common emotional disturbances are already present in the college sample, and ameliorated with meditation practice, it is feasible that teaching these skills before the onset of emotional disturbance may …
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Identifying the mechanisms of action in MBCT
Randomized clinical trials (e.g., Teasdale, Segal, Williams, Ridgeway, Soulsby, & Lau, 2000; Ma & Teasdale, 2004) support the efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for preventing depressive relapse. Unfortunately, there are scant studies of the treatment’s mechanisms of action. Teasdale and colleagues (2000) have speculated that MBCT is effective because it enhances participants’ ability to disengage …
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