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Meditation and the neuroscience of consciousness: An introduction. NewYork
, 2007
"... The overall goal of this chapter is to explore the initial findings of neuroscientific research ..."
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The overall goal of this chapter is to explore the initial findings of neuroscientific research
Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness
- Emotion
, 2008
"... The need for social connection is a fundamental human motive, and it is increasingly clear that feeling socially connected confers mental and physical health benefits. However, in many cultures, societal changes are leading to growing social distrust and alienation. Can feelings of social connection ..."
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Cited by 35 (3 self)
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The need for social connection is a fundamental human motive, and it is increasingly clear that feeling socially connected confers mental and physical health benefits. However, in many cultures, societal changes are leading to growing social distrust and alienation. Can feelings of social connection and positivity toward others be increased? Is it possible to self-generate these feelings? In this study, the authors used a brief loving-kindness meditation exercise to examine whether social connection could be created toward strangers in a controlled laboratory context. Compared with a closely matched control task, even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels. These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation.
Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training.
- Consciousness and Cognition,
, 2010
"... a b s t r a c t Although research has found that long-term mindfulness meditation practice promotes executive functioning and the ability to sustain attention, the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training have not been fully explored. We examined whether brief meditation training affects co ..."
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a b s t r a c t Although research has found that long-term mindfulness meditation practice promotes executive functioning and the ability to sustain attention, the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training have not been fully explored. We examined whether brief meditation training affects cognition and mood when compared to an active control group. After four sessions of either meditation training or listening to a recorded book, participants with no prior meditation experience were assessed with measures of mood, verbal fluency, visual coding, and working memory. Both interventions were effective at improving mood but only brief meditation training reduced fatigue, anxiety, and increased mindfulness. Moreover, brief mindfulness training significantly improved visuo-spatial processing, working memory, and executive functioning. Our findings suggest that 4 days of meditation training can enhance the ability to sustain attention; benefits that have previously been reported with long-term meditators.
The neurobiology of Meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders.
- Biol Psychol
, 2009
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Directed attention as a common resource for executive functioning and self-regulation
- Perspectives on Psychological Science
, 2010
"... Research on executive functioning and on self-regulation have each identified a critical resource that is central to that domain and is susceptible to depletion. In addition, studies have shown that self-regulation tasks and executive-functioning tasks interact with each other, suggesting that they ..."
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Cited by 27 (2 self)
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Research on executive functioning and on self-regulation have each identified a critical resource that is central to that domain and is susceptible to depletion. In addition, studies have shown that self-regulation tasks and executive-functioning tasks interact with each other, suggesting that they may share resources. Other research has focused specifically on restoring what we propose is the shared resource between self-regulation and executive functioning. Utilizing a theory-based natural environment intervention, these studies have found improvements in executive-functioning performance and self-regulation effectiveness, suggesting that the natural environment intervention restores this shared resource. Keywords
Mindfulness meditation training in adults and adolescents with ADHD: A feasibility study
- Journal of Attention Disorders
, 2008
"... Objective: ADHD is a childhood-onset psychiatric condition that often continues into adulthood. Stimulant medications are the mainstay of treatment; however, additional approaches are frequently desired. In recent years, mindfulness meditation has been proposed to improve attention, reduce stress, a ..."
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Objective: ADHD is a childhood-onset psychiatric condition that often continues into adulthood. Stimulant medications are the mainstay of treatment; however, additional approaches are frequently desired. In recent years, mindfulness meditation has been proposed to improve attention, reduce stress, and improve mood. This study tests the feasibility of an 8-week mindful-ness training program for adults and adolescents with ADHD. Method: Twenty-four adults and eight adolescents with ADHD enrolled in a feasibility study of an 8-week mindfulness training program. Results: The majority of participants completed the training and reported high satisfaction with the training. Pre–post improvements in self-reported ADHD symptoms and test performance on tasks measuring attention and cognitive inhibition were noted. Improvements in anxiety and depressive symptoms were also observed. Conclusion: Mindfulness training is a feasible intervention in a subset of ADHD adults and adolescents and may improve behavioral and neurocognitive impairments. A controlled clinical study is warranted. (J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 11(6) 737-746)
Reviewed by:
, 2012
"... doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00018 Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control ..."
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doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00018 Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control
Mindfulness research update: 2008
- Complementary Health Research Practice Review
, 2009
"... Objective—To briefly review the effects of mindfulness on the mind, the brain, the body, and behavior. Methods—Selective review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases (2003–2008) using the terms “mindfulness”, “meditation”, “mental health”, “physical health”, “quality of life”, and “stre ..."
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Objective—To briefly review the effects of mindfulness on the mind, the brain, the body, and behavior. Methods—Selective review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar databases (2003–2008) using the terms “mindfulness”, “meditation”, “mental health”, “physical health”, “quality of life”, and “stress reduction. ” A total of 52 exemplars of empirical and theoretical work were selected for review. Results—Both basic and clinical research indicate that cultivating a more mindful way of being is associated with less emotional distress, more positive states of mind, and better quality of life. In addition, mindfulness practice can influence the brain, the autonomic nervous system, stress hormones, the immune system, and health behaviors, including eating, sleeping and substance use, in salutary ways. Conclusion—The application of cutting-edge technology toward understanding mindfulness – an “inner technology ” – is elucidating new ways in which attention, awareness, acceptance, and compassion may promote optimal health – in mind, body, relationships, and spirit.
EEG paroxysmal gamma waves during Bhramari Pranayama: a yoga breathing technique
- Conscious. Cogn
, 2008
"... Abstract Here we report that a specific form of yoga can generate controlled high-frequency gamma waves. For the first time, paroxysmal gamma waves (PGW) were observed in eight subjects practicing a yoga technique of breathing control called Bhramari Pranayama (BhPr). To obtain new insights into th ..."
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Abstract Here we report that a specific form of yoga can generate controlled high-frequency gamma waves. For the first time, paroxysmal gamma waves (PGW) were observed in eight subjects practicing a yoga technique of breathing control called Bhramari Pranayama (BhPr). To obtain new insights into the nature of the EEG during BhPr, we analyzed EEG signals using timefrequency representations (TFR), independent component analysis (ICA), and EEG tomography (LORETA). We found that the PGW consists of high-frequency biphasic ripples. This unusual activity is discussed in relation to previous reports on yoga and meditation. It is concluded this EEG activity is most probably non-epileptic, and that applying the same methodology to other meditation recordings might yield an improved understanding of the neurocorrelates of meditation.
Neural correlates of decision making on a gambling task
- Child Development
, 2009
"... Individual differences in affective decision making were examined by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) while 74 typically developing 8-year-olds (38 boys, 36 girls) completed a 4-choice gambling task (Hun-gry Donkey Task; E. A. Crone & M. W. van der Molen, 2004). ERP results indicated: ( ..."
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Individual differences in affective decision making were examined by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) while 74 typically developing 8-year-olds (38 boys, 36 girls) completed a 4-choice gambling task (Hun-gry Donkey Task; E. A. Crone & M. W. van der Molen, 2004). ERP results indicated: (a) a robust P300 compo-nent in response to feedback (punishment vs. reward outcomes), (b) anticipation effects (stimulus-preceding negativity) prior to outcomes presented on frequent (vs. infrequent) punishment choices, (c) anticipation effects prior to selections associated with short and long-term losses (vs. gains), and (d) individual differences in ERP components were significantly correlated with behavioral performance and verbal ability. These find-ings suggest that neurophysiological responses may be an index of children’s trait-based and ⁄or developmen-tal level of decision-making skills in affective–motivational situations. Middle childhood reflects a period in development when children begin to be confronted with deci-sions about meaningful, motivationally significant, life events that carry a certain degree of risk regarding future consequences. Examples include deciding whether to participate in deviant or harmful activities with peers or risk social rejec-tion, choosing whether to hit a sibling or walk away from the fight, and deciding whether to forego playing a videogame in order to study for a test. The ability to control one’s thoughts and behaviors in situations in which there is a rela-tively strong motivational component (e.g., rewards and losses tied to one’s performance) or ‘‘hot’ ’ executive function show developmental changes over the lifespan (e.g., from early child-hood to middle childhood to adulthood) (for reviews, see Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999; Zelazo, Carlson, & Kesek, 2008; Zelazo & Cunningham, 2007). However, surprisingly little is known about individual differences in hot executive function, and even less on the neural substrates of such individual differences. Given the importance of affective decision making in establishing healthy versus pathological pathways in social develop-ment, especially during middle childhood (e.g.,
