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Meditation and attention: A comparison of the effects of concentrative and mindfulness meditation on sustained attention
Abstract
The performance of concentrative and mindfulness meditators on a test of sustained attention (Wilkins' counting test) was compared with controls. Both groups of meditators demonstrated superior performance on the test of sustained attention in comparison with controls, and long-term meditators were superior to short-term meditators. Mindfulness meditators showed superior performance in comparison with concentrative meditators when the stimulus was unexpected but there was no difference between the two types of meditators when the stimulus was expected. The results are discussed in relation to the attentional mechanisms involved in the two types of meditation and implications drawn for mental health.
... To take a more rigorous analytical approach to coherence and power, we applied phase synchronization to analyze functional connectivity during meditation. Other phase locking methods have found increased gamma (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40) coherence during rest and during loving kindness meditation (19), increased theta coherence during open monitoring Vipassana meditation (20), and increased alpha coherence during TM (5). ...
... Throughout the varied histories of meditation traditions there have been fantastic claims and benefits that their training can bring, along with more modest claims, such as increased emotional regulation, stress reduction, improved attentional performance, and increased lifespan (11,20,(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36). This study aims to determine the short-term impact of meditation on physiological attention in novices. ...
... Manual inspection of flagged artifacts shows that all slow frequency, high amplitude artifacts were correctly flagged, and data were removed. Continuous data were split into the following frequencies: delta (0.5-3 Hz), theta (3-7 Hz), alpha (7-13 Hz), beta (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), and gamma (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45). We then calculated mean phase coherence, as first applied to EEG by Mormann and colleagues in epilepsy patients (21). ...
Background Coherence analysis examines the functional connectivity of cortical regions, which are important for cognitive functioning and may be related to the benefits of meditation. Meditation analysis to date has analyzed coherence by comparing EEG wave power using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), and then calculating the coherence spectra with disregard to wave phase. This method can show spurious coherence between regions that are unlikely to be synchronized. Our methods used a phase synchronization measure of coherence, mean phase coherence (MPC) - novel to meditation. Methods Attentional performance before and after 20-minute eye-closed focused attention meditation was measured in 25 healthy, meditation naïve subjects. MPC was calculated in wave specific bins and for every 30 seconds during meditation. To determine if these EEG hallmarks showed relation with performance changes, MPC and power was then correlated to PVT results. Results MPC showed high alpha coherence between front-temporal and frontal-occipital electrodes. Meditation also underwent temporal changes with high prefrontal gamma coherence correlated with better performance at meditation onset, with frontal alpha and beta power later in the meditation. Alpha coherence throughout the meditation was correlated with better attentional performance changes. Conclusions Our data suggest that MPC may have identified regions of high coherence during meditation that are correlated with improved PVT performance. The results also suggest that meditation is a dynamic neural process that requires more careful analysis into temporal changes. Finally, results suggest that “control” conditions need to be more systematically studied, as many conditions may show similar neural dynamics to meditation
... Focused attention and open monitoring practice elicit different outcomes on a wide range of cognitive control processes, such as attentional selection and conflict monitoring. For example, Valentine and Sweet (1999) Further support that focused attention practice induces a narrow attentional focus comes from several studies that show how focused attention meditation increases sustained attention (Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2007). ...
... Sustained attention is arguably the most investigated form of attention in mindfulness research, which is not surprising given that a strong degree of sustained attention is required to stay engaged with a mindfulness practice. Defined as "the ability to self-sustain mindful, conscious processing of stimuli whose repetitive, non-arousing qualities would otherwise lead to habituation and distraction to other stimuli" (Robertson et al., 1997, p. 747), MBIs have been reported to induce better performance in sustained attention tasks (e.g., Valentine & Sweet, 1999). Examples of commonly used sustained attention tasks include the Continuous Performance Test (Conners, 2000), which assesses visual vigilance in scanning and concentrating on stimuli, and the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART: Robertson et al., 1997) which measures the ability to withhold responses to infrequent and unpredictable stimuli during a period of quick response to frequent stimuli. ...
... According to Holzel et al. (2011), attentional control is required to be at a sufficient level to remain engaged during any type of meditation, with novice meditators reporting improved attention control following repeated practice. Valentine and Sweet (1999) reported superior attentional control in mindfulness meditators in comparison to a waiting list control group after investigating the effects of mindfulness meditation on sustained attention. These findings support the claim that mindfulness practice can improve attentional regulation (Holzel et al., 2011;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). ...
The aim of the empirical work reported in this thesis was to examine the impact of mindfulness on creative cognition and visual attention. The first investigation comprised two meta-analytical reviews to determine the overarching outcome that mindfulness interventions have on creativity and considered the role of intervention length, the type of creativity assessed and the methodological differences of mindfulness studies. The next investigation involved a short-term mindfulness intervention to examine the outcomes on visual attention in a flanker task and a sustained attention to response task (SART), including outcomes on creative cognition using rebus puzzles. The final empirical study examined the links between visual attention using the flanker task and convergent and divergent creative performance using the Compound Remote Associates Task (CRAT) and the Alternative Uses Task (AUT). Collectively, the thesis addresses the complicated relationship between mindfulness and creative cognition and elucidates the important role of attention inhibition and executive attention for convergent and divergent creative processes, which it is argued contribute to a stage of creative idea evaluation.
... Attention control enables the practitioner to focus and maintain attention on the meditation object -body sensations, breathing or thoughts, for example -and to redirect attention back to the object of the meditation when mind-wandering occurs. Not surprisingly then, studies have found that mindfulness meditation benefits a range of attention control-related components including sustained attention (Valentine & Sweet, 1999;Zeidan et al., 2010), attentional orienting (Jha et al., 2007), selective attention (Colzato et al., 2016), cognitive inhibition (Chan et al., 2017;Tang et al., 2007) and cognitive flexibility (Colzato et al., 2015a). For example, Chan et al. (2020), using EEG event-related potential methodology during motor sequence learning, reported heightened N2 amplitude, a neurophysiological marker of increased attention regulation, after single-session meditation when it was preceded by brief mindfulness meditation training. ...
... The selective nature of the FAM goal relies on increased executive control of attention to narrow focus and increase competition with distracting information (Chan et al., 2017(Chan et al., , 2020Colzato et al., 2015aColzato et al., , 2016Lippelt et al., 2014). Consistent with this idea, FAM has been found to increase attention control on several cognitive tasks such as the Symbol Digit Modalities test, verbal fluency, n-back (Zeidan et al., 2010), attention orienting (Jha et al., 2007) and the Wilkins' counting test (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). More specifically, Colzato et al., (2016) reported that meditation naïve participants demonstrate increased ability to supress task-irrelevant visual stimuli on the global-local task after a brief 17-min session of FAM. ...
... This indicates that the cognitive state facilitated by OMM leads to greater difficulty in supressing task irrelevant information. Similarly, meditation experience with OMM results in higher performance than FAM meditation experience in tasks involving unexpected target stimuli (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). This supports the notion that OMM promotes a more encompassing, divergent thinking style that weakens top-down control (Colzato et al., 2012). ...
Previous investigations into the effect of mindfulness meditation on false memory have reported mixed findings. One potential issue is that mindfulness meditation involves different styles that establish distinct cognitive control states. The present work aimed to address this issue by comparing the effects of single-session focused attention (FAM) and open monitoring (OMM) mindfulness meditation styles on true and false memory recall. Strengthened cognitive control states associated with FAM were predicted to increase true memory recall and decrease false memory recall. Conversely, weakened cognitive control established by OMM was predicted to increase false memory recall. Thirty-four meditation-naïve participants (23 females, mean age = 23.4 years, range = 18–33) first completed pre-meditation learning and recall phases of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task. Participants then completed a single session of FAM or OMM prior to a second, post-meditation, round of DRM task learning and recall phases with a novel word list. Finally, participants completed a recognition test with true and false memory, and distractor words. Both FAM and OMM groups demonstrated significant increase in false memory recall between pre- and post-meditation recall tests but these groups did not differ with respect to true and false memory recall and recognition. The present findings are consistent with previous reports of increased false memory arising from mindfulness meditation. Distinct cognitive control states associated with FAM and OMM states do not result in distinct true and false memory formation, at least in meditation-naïve adults.
... For example, Nash and Newberg (2013) emphasizes the role of mental training within attention focus, while Kabat-Zinn (2018) and Tang et al. (2015) discuss the elements of relaxation, body awareness, and self-awareness. Meditation comprises diverse forms, with Concentrative Meditation (CM) standing out as a popular method [58,151]. This form of meditation requires practitioners to focus their attention on a specific object, such as sound, visual imagery, or body movements, and maintain this concentration for a period [112,125,142,151]. ...
... Meditation comprises diverse forms, with Concentrative Meditation (CM) standing out as a popular method [58,151]. This form of meditation requires practitioners to focus their attention on a specific object, such as sound, visual imagery, or body movements, and maintain this concentration for a period [112,125,142,151]. For example, this study explores how users focus on their footsteps and the sounds provided by the system to help them maintain focus. ...
Running has emerged as an alternative to traditional meditation practices that involve sitting with closed eyes. The rhythmic nature of running establishes a connection between mind and body to promote mindfulness and improve the overall experience and benefits of running. The use of technology-supported meditation is gaining attention in the fields of mental and physical wellness. However, existing meditation technologies primarily focus on one-way stimuli for sitting or walking meditation, with little emphasis on adaptive design and development for running meditation. To address this issue, we present the design framework and system development of RunMe, an adaptive sound system specifically designed for running meditation. RunMe integrates stimulation and regulation mechanisms to enhance adaptive data interactions between the sounds and runners’ biodata. We compared the significance of the RunMe group with three other groups: use of non-adaptive sound, use of favorite music and use of no music/sound. The results show that the RunMe group outperforms the other groups in attention regulation, body awareness, exercise motivation, and mindfulness. Importantly, RunMe has the potential to allow users to engage in running meditation without specialized equipment, making it accessible for daily practice. We also discuss the design framework and practical distinctions of RunMe, as well as the design implications and future directions for advancing running meditation.
... While this final goal is shared among the different meditation techniques (Cooper et al., 2022;Reddy and Roy, 2018;J.S.K. 2019;Osho, 2012), the methods of inducing such a meditative state can differ substantially (Fox et al., 2016;Raffone et al., 2019;Fucci et al., 2018;Fujino et al., 2018;Lehmann et al., 2012;Awasthi, 2013;Woods et al., 2020;West, 1987;Koshikawa and Ichii, 1996;Lutz et al., 2007). The different induction methods are often characterized by a shift of the practitioner's attentional focus on different objects of choice, ranging from spatially confined objects (such as breath or other bodily sensations) to more expansive spaces (like the room one sits in) (Braboszcz et al., 2017;Jha et al., 2007;Lutz et al., 2008;Raffone and Srinivasan, 2010;Kozhevnikov et al., 2022;Tsai and Chou, 2016;Lippelt et al., 2014;Valentine and Sweet, 1999;Manna et al., 2010;Prakash, 2021;Brandmeyer et al., 2019;Amihai and Kozhevnikov, 2015). ...
... Different meditation techniques are related to unique ways of focusing one's attention, including wider and narrow attentional windows (Braboszcz et al., 2017;Jha et al., 2007;Lutz et al., 2008;Raffone and Srinivasan, 2010;Kozhevnikov et al., 2022;Tsai and Chou, 2016;Lippelt et al., 2014;Valentine and Sweet, 1999;Manna et al., 2010;Prakash, 2021;Brandmeyer et al., 2019;Amihai and Kozhevnikov, 2015). Therefore, the present study investigated the neural mechanisms that underlie distinct meditation techniques featured by their different widths of attentional windows in the practitioners' attentional foci. ...
... Thus, the study indicates that mindfulness training facilitates the better allocation of attention resources, thereby improving attentional control. These findings extend across other experimental investigations on mindfulness that have reported improvements in attentional control (Chan & Woollacott, 2007;Jha et al., 2007;Kozasa et al., 2012;Kuo & Yeh, 2015;Tang et al., 2007;Valentine & Sweet, 1999;Wang et al., 2021;Zeidan et al., 2010), and increase in attentional resources (Kramer et al., 2013). ...
... Hence, the performance of the mindfulness meditators in the primary lettersearch task remained unaffected even in the high perceptual load. According to previous research, mindfulness improves cognitive control and enhances the efficiency with which attentional resources are distributed (Chan & Woollacott, 2007;Jha et al., 2007;Kozasa et al., 2012;Kuo & Yeh, 2015;Tang et al., 2007;Valentine & Sweet, 1999;Wang et al., 2021;Zeidan et al., 2010). Moreover, mindfulness might also increase attentional resources (Kramer et al., 2013). ...
Mindfulness improves attentional control and regulates emotion. In the current study, two experiments were conducted to examine the role of sustained mindfulness practice in attentional capture by emotional distractors in different perceptual load conditions. Individuals with previous experience in mindfulness meditation and those without meditation experience participated. Participants were required to identify and respond to a target letter in a visual search task in high and low perceptual load conditions. They were instructed to ignore the distractors (Experiment 1: happy or angry faces; Experiment 2: pleasurable or unpleasurable IAPS images), which were present in 25% of total trials. Results indicated that distractors with positive emotional information captured the attention and interfered with the task performance of non-meditators in the high-load condition. However, mindfulness meditators reduced the interference from positive emotional information in the high-load condition. Moreover, mindfulness meditators processed negative emotional distractors more than non-meditators without compromising the visual-search performance in the high-load condition. Given that processing negative emotion requires more attentional resources than processing positive emotion, it may show that mindfulness meditators have more attentional resources. Additionally, those who practiced mindfulness meditation reported greater psychological well-being and fewer depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that mindfulness might improve attentional control for positive and pleasurable distractors. It reflects a diminished need in meditators to seek satisfaction from external pleasurable distractions. The findings have practical implications for managing hedonic compulsive behaviors and theoretical implications for understanding the interactive role of emotion and attention in mindfulness.
... While it may be assumed that all meditation practices equally benefit the practitioner, research rather intriguingly suggests that different styles of meditation practice elicit different brain activity patterns (Cahn & Polich, 2009;Cahn & Polich, 2006;Lutz et al., 2007;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). For example, mindfulness meditation more than concentrative forms of meditation (e.g., focusing on a mantra) has been shown to stimulate the middle prefrontal brain associated with both self-observation and metacognition (Cahn & Polich, 2006;Siegel, 2009) and foster specific attentional mechanisms (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). ...
... While it may be assumed that all meditation practices equally benefit the practitioner, research rather intriguingly suggests that different styles of meditation practice elicit different brain activity patterns (Cahn & Polich, 2009;Cahn & Polich, 2006;Lutz et al., 2007;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). For example, mindfulness meditation more than concentrative forms of meditation (e.g., focusing on a mantra) has been shown to stimulate the middle prefrontal brain associated with both self-observation and metacognition (Cahn & Polich, 2006;Siegel, 2009) and foster specific attentional mechanisms (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). With the advancement of neurological technology, mindfulness researchers are examining distinct components of mindfulness meditation such as focused attention, open monitoring (nonjudgmental moment-to-moment observation of one"s experience), and loving-kindness compassion practice and their specific physiological outcomes (Lutz et al., 2008;Lutz et al., 2007). ...
Understanding and treating OCD can be one of the greatest challenges facing mental health professionals. Experts
recommend cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT), which includes a heavy component of exposure and response prevention
(ERP), the first- line treatment of choice for mild to moderate cases of obsessions and compulsions. Since, traditional ERP
is mostly based on western philosophies, mindfulness strategies, which are more relatable to the Indian population, has
been used as an adjunct to ERP and cognitive restructuring for the treatment of OCD. The present study aimed to examine
the effect of mindfulness as an adjunct to ERP and cognitive restructuring on individuals diagnosed with OCD. The
individuals (n= 4) were assessed in the domains of thought control using the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ),
emotional schema using the Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (LESS II), quality of life using WHOQOL - BREF,
dysfunctional attitude by the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale –Short Form 1 and Y- BOCS total score, pre and post
therapeutic intervention.It was found that mindfulness as an adjunct to CBT led to improved thought control, better quality
of life, lower dysfunctional attitude and lesser severity of symptoms. It further highlights the need for developing
therapeutic strategies more suitable for the Indian culture which would have a wider applicability.
... The results contribute to the literature by adding results related to long-term practice of a concentrative meditation technique, which could share attentional mechanisms with mindfulness and relaxation techniques in its effect on attention. If one considers Cohen's conceptualisation (1993) of digit span tests as measures of attention span, then the findings can be seen as consistent with that of Valentine and Sweet (1999), where concentrative meditation practice was found to improve sustained attention. ...
Although the literature indicates that meditation has beneficial effects on several aspects of human functioning, few studies have specifically investigated the effects of meditation on various domains of attention. This study was conducted to examine the differences in various domains of attention between long-term concentrative meditators versus matched controls. 15 practitioners of Vihangam Yoga (> 10 yr. experience) were enrolled in the study. Controls matched on age, sex, and years of education were recruited. Both groups were administered the Stroop, Trail-Making, and Digit Symbol Substitution tests as well as the Digit Forward and Digit Backward tests. The group of Vihangam Yogis had significantly better mean performance on all tests of attention. Long-term Vihangam Yoga meditation improves attention span, processing speed, attention alternation ability, and performance in interference tests.
... There are different types of quality of attention, direct and indirect (Morgan & Morgan, 2005). Directly, Reiman (1986) and Valentine and Sweet (1999) explain that mindfulness enhances an individual's ability to focus on any mental object. By practicing mindfulness, individuals train their minds to stay fully present and completely engage with whatever they are concentrating on. ...
Mindful leaders create great working places where employees love to come to work and can be the best versions of themselves through a collaborative and innovative culture. Practices of mindfulness involve consciousness, being aware of oneself and surroundings, and living in the present moment of life. Programs initiated by several leading companies towards mindfulness have helped establish a positive culture where employees are happy. The stress is at its minimal, while productivity and positive outcomes are seen. This chapter therefore studies the cases of a few companies where mindfulness was initiated by their respective leaders, because of their personal experiences of the benefits gained by mindfulness. Therefore, through these case studies, one understands the reasons these mindfulness programs exist and the positive outcomes they create for organizations. The benefits and outcomes of mindfulness practices are discussed in this chapter, helping organizations achieve their goals while keeping the work culture motivated, happy, collaborative, and with innovation at its core.
... Some findings suggest that extensive meditation training diminishes mental fixation by improving attention monitoring (Tang et al., 2007), broadening the scope of attention (MacLean et al., 2010;Valentine & Sweet, 1999), and enhancing the speed of allocating attention, as well as engagement and subsequent disengagement from sequentially presented objects of attention (Slagter et al., 2007). Such cognitive skills fostered by the practice of OM meditation not only do not require the suppression of MW but also create a state where MW can persist continuously. ...
Open monitoring meditation is generally defined as the nonreactive, meta-aware observation of moment-by-moment phenomenal experiences associated with mental contents without focusing on predetermined mental or physical objects. However, in the current literature, neither general definitions nor more technical ones specify any particular mental state as the content of the meditator’s meta-awareness. In this article, we argue at both cognitive and neural levels that the object of the meditator’s meta-awareness consists solely of the phenomenal experiences associated with mind wandering contents, characterized as unguided, spontaneous thoughts. We demonstrate that out of the various definitions of mind wandering, only the one outlined in the dynamic framework aligns with our proposition, which defines open monitoring as the nonreactive meta-awareness of mind wandering.
... MBSR courses have not only benefitted the fields of medicine, psychology, and education but have also been widely promoted within the corporate sector, significantly improving physical and mental health, emotions, and quality of life (Hsieh, 2019). Research by Valentine and Sweet (1999) showed that mindfulness meditators exhibit better psychological health than those practicing focused meditation. Various studies have explored the attention mechanisms of mindfulness meditation, correlating it with mental health improvements through attention regulation, body awareness, emotional regulation, and changing self-perceptions. ...
This study conducts a bibliometric analysis using the Web of Science database on 1,950 articles published in the journal Mindfulness from 2012 to 2022. By constructing a knowledge graph, the research delineates the evolution, stages of development, and emerging trends in the field of mindfulness. Significant growth in the annual publication volume has been observed since 2012, with the research progression segmented into three distinct phases. The United States has emerged as a pivotal contributor to the field, dominating in terms of publication volume, researcher involvement, and institutional contributions. Through the application of keyword co-occurrence and reference co-citation analysis, five principal clusters were identified, focusing on mindfulness, meditation, depression, stress, and self-compassion, underscoring these as focal research areas. Furthermore, the exploration of mindfulness within the educational sphere in Taiwan is still nascent, signaling a critical need for bolstered research support in diverse thematic domains.
... Investigaciones en población adulta han encontrado efectos positivos del entrenamiento en mindfulness sobre la cognición, específicamente en funciones como la atención (Jha et al., 2007;Lazar et al., 2005;Moore et al., 2012;Schmertz et al., 2009;Tang et al., 2015;Valentine & Sweet, 1999), las funciones ejecutivas en general (Millett et al., 2021) y el control inhibitorio en particular (Basso et al., 2019;Hölzel et al., 2011a;Pagnoni & Cekic, 2007). Asimismo, en los últimos años ha habido un interés creciente por el uso y enseñanza de mindfulness en niños y cómo este aprendizaje puede mejorar su desarrollo cognitivo y emocional (e.g., Burke, 2010;Greco et al., 2005;Mendelson et al., 2010;Semple et al., 2010;Thompson & Gauntlett-Gilbert, 2008). ...
El propósito de este trabajo consistió en estudiar el impacto de un entrenamiento en mindfulness sobre la atención selectiva, la atención sostenida y el control inhibitorio en niños de entre 9 y 11 años. Para ello, 114 alumnos participaron del programa de mindfulness Tranquilos y atentos como una rana, siendo previa y posteriormente evaluados con pruebas que recogen medidas de dichas variables. Se realizó un estudio de tipo cuasiexperimental con contrabalanceo para reducir el efecto aprendizaje. Se trabajó con un grupo experimental y un grupo control. Los resultados mostraron un impacto de la práctica sobre la medida de atención selectiva, no así para las medidas de atención sostenida ni de control inhibitorio. Teniendo en cuenta el rol de las habilidades atencionales en la actividad académica de los niños, este resultado resalta la importancia de pensar las prácticas de mindfulness en el contexto escolar.
... Cette technique, largement utilisée dans le traitement des troubles psychopathologiques, est de plus en plus utilisée pour les troubles sexuels féminins (Adam et al., 2015 ;Adam et al., 2020, Brotto et al., 2012Paterson et al., 2017). Il est bien établi que la pleine conscience améliore notamment les capacités attentionnelles (Chambers et al., 2008 ;Jha et al., 2007 ;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). ...
Cette étude qualitative vise à mieux comprendre les mécanismes attention-nels des femmes anorgasmiques et orgasmiques durant les activités sexuelles dyadiques. Sept femmes âgées de 21 à 40 ans (M = 31,57, SD = 7,27) ont rempli plusieurs questionnaires et ont participé à un entretien semi-structuré. L'analyse thématique révèle que les femmes anorgasmiques présentent des biais attentionnels qui peuvent être responsables de l'apparition et du maintien d'un trouble de l'orgasme : 1) attention orien-tée vers les stimuli non érotiques de la relation sexuelle ; 2) attention orientée vers les ruminations mentales ; et 3) attention orientée vers les cognitions dysfonctionnelles. En revanche, les femmes orgasmiques utilisent des stratégies attentionnelles qui favorisent la venue de l'orgasme : 1) attention orientée vers les sensations corporelles ; 2) attention orientée vers les fantaisies érotiques ; et 3) réorientation de l'attention vers les stimuli érotiques. En conclusion, l'attention des femmes anorgasmiques semblent être captée par des biais attentionnels tandis que les femmes orgasmiques se focalisent sur l'instant présent (stimuli érotiques et agréables). Il est donc crucial d'évaluer les ressources atten-tionnelles afin d'améliorer les futures prises en charge. Pour citer cet article. Adam F, Grimm E. Comment les femmes expérimentent les relations sexuelles dyadiques au niveau attentionnel ? Une étude qualitative comparant des femmes anorgasmiques et orgasmiques. Sexologies 2023 ; 32(4) : 256-267.
... This technique is widely used in the treatment of psychopathological disorders and, more recently, for female sexual dysfunctions (Adam et al. 2015;Brotto & Heiman, 2007;Brotto et al. 2008Brotto et al. , 2012. Numerous studies have demonstrated that mindfulness significantly improves attentional capacity (Jha et al. 2007;Valentine & Sweet, 1999;Chambers & Allen, 2008) and reduces negative thoughts (Heeren & Philippot, 2010). Mindfulness comprises two main modules: attention orientation towards the experience and the self-regulation of attention (Bishop et al. 2004). ...
... Another study revealed that meditation training for four days could enhance the ability to sustain attention (Zeidan et al. 2010). Further studies comparing those who did mindfulness meditation with those who did not, or who did less revealed that meditators had better sustained attention (Valentine and Sweet 1999, Jha et al. 2007, Josefsson and Broberg 2011. On the other hand, further study has found no significant changes in sustained attention between meditators and control groups (Tang et al. 2007, Polak 2009). ...
The use of mindfulness-based interventions in many areas is increasing day by day. Having knowledge of the components of mindfulness is also important to know the mechanisms in which mindfulness-based interventions are effective. This study has aimed to examine potential attentional mechanisms of mindfulness. In this context, mindfulness has been defined and attention and attention models have been briefly discussed in the study. Then, the relationship between mindfulness and attention has been examined, and previous research findings examining mindfulness and attention are included. The studies on attention and mindfulness seem to have more inconsistent results when conducted with adults, whereas the studies in adolescents and children seem to have more consistent results revealing that mindfulness-based interventions improve the attentional skills of the youth. Knowing the relationship between mindfulness and attention will aid to maximize the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions and it will be a crucial step in identifying the people that might benefit from mindfulness-based interventions
... The different practices of meditation (e.g., attentional, open monitoring, loving kindness) have a variety of positive effects, including present-moment awareness and observation of experience with openness, acceptance, and nonattachment (Dahl, Lutz, & Davidson, 2015;Kabat-Zinn, 2003;Lutz, Slagter, Dunne, & Davidson, 2009;Ricard, Lutz, & Davidson, 2014). They can also promote stress reduction, well-being, social connectedness, selfawareness, and attention and emotional regulation (Basso, McHale, Ende, Oberlin, & Suzuki, 2019;Champion, Economides, & Chandler, 2018;Guendelman, Medeiros, & Rampes, 2017;Ludwig & Kabat-Zinn, 2008;Marchand, 2012;Pascoe, Thompson, Jenkins, & Ski, 2017;Tang, Hölzel, & Posner, 2015;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). ...
Contemplative neuroscience has increasingly explored meditation using neuroimaging. However, the brain mechanisms underlying meditation remain elusive. Here, we implemented a mechanistic framework to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of expert meditators during meditation and rest, and controls during rest. We first applied a model-free approach by defining a probabilistic metastable substate (PMS) space for each condition, consisting of different probabilities of occurrence from a repertoire of dynamic patterns. Moreover, we implemented a model-based approach by adjusting the PMS of each condition to a whole-brain model, which enabled us to explore in silico perturbations to transition from resting-state to meditation and vice versa. Consequently, we assessed the sensitivity of different brain areas regarding their perturbability and their mechanistic local-global effects. Overall, our work reveals distinct whole-brain dynamics in meditation compared to rest, and how transitions can be induced with localized artificial perturbations. It motivates future work regarding meditation as a practice in health and as a potential therapy for brain disorders.
... Moving forward, a similar approach could be applied to investigate other domains in which meditation impacts information processing. Take, for example, the common finding that mindfulness enhances attention (e.g., Jha et al., 2007;Semple et al., 2010;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). Paradigms that assess components of attention (e.g., selective attention, sustained vigilance, executive control) are also susceptible to a range of decisional biases (i.e., stimulus and response-driven processes; van Vugt et al., 2019). ...
Recent research has demonstrated that mindfulness-based meditation facilitates basic aspects of cognition, including memory and attention. Further developing this line of inquiry, here we considered the possibility that similar effects may extend to another core psychological process—instrumental learning. To explore this matter, in combination with a probabilistic selection task, computational modelling (i.e., reinforcement drift diffusion model analysis) was adopted to establish whether and how brief mindfulness-based meditation influences learning under conditions of uncertainty (i.e., choices based on the perceived likelihood of positive and negative outcomes). Three effects were observed. Compared with performance in the control condition (i.e., no meditation), mindfulness-based meditation (1) accelerated the rate of learning following positive prediction errors; (2) elicited a preference for the exploration (vs. exploitation) of choice selections; and (3) increased response caution. Collectively, these findings elucidate the pathways through which brief meditative experiences impact learning and decision-making, with implications for interventions designed to debias aspects of social-cognitive functioning using mindfulness-based meditation.
... This difference corresponded to the number of years of mindfulness participation (Valentine & Sweet, 1999). Several studies of attention have been conducted employing the Stroop task (a task of selective attention requiring the inhibition of an automatic response of reading, in favor of naming the color a word is printed in) to compare the attentional capacities of mindful versus less mindful individuals. ...
... Therefore, by first training in focused attention meditation, one can develop meta-awareness and the ability to disengage from distractions using a discernible and perceptible interoceptive anchor (i.e., breathing sensations) amenable to both voluntary manipulation as well as conscious observation (Jha et al., 2007;Laukkonen and Slagter, 2021;Trungpa, 2002;Valentine and Sweet, 1999). Consequently, focused attention meditation training (using breathing) can improve sustained attention (Wenk-Sormaz, 2005), reduce the incidence of mind-wandering (Mrazek et al., 2012), and attenuate maladaptive thinking patterns that may fuel stress and anxiety (Laukkonen and Slagter, 2021). ...
... The different practices of meditation (e.g., attentional, open monitoring, loving kindness) have a variety of positive effects, including presentmoment awareness and observation of experience with openness, acceptance, and non-attachment (Dahl et al., 2015;Ricard et al., 2014;Lutz et al., 2009;Kabat-Zinn, 2003). They can also promote stress reduction, well-being, social connectedness, self-awareness, and attention and emotional regulation (Basso et al., 2019;Champion et al., 2018;Pascoe et al., 2017;Guendelman et al., 2017;Tang et al., 2015;Marchand, 2012;Ludwig and Kabat-Zinn, 2008;Valentine and Sweet, 2007). ...
Contemplative neuroscience has increasingly explored meditation using neuroimaging. However, the brain mechanisms underlying meditation remain elusive. Here, we implemented a causal mechanistic framework to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of expert meditators during meditation and rest. We first applied a model-free approach by defining a probabilistic metastable substate (PMS) space for each state, consisting of different probabilities of occurrence from a repertoire of dynamic patterns. Different brain signatures were mainly found in the triple-network model (i.e., the executive control, salience, and default-mode networks). Moreover, we implemented a model-based approach by adjusting the PMS of the resting state to a whole-brain model, which enabled us to explore in silico perturbations to transition to the meditation state. Consequently, we assessed the sensitivity of different brain areas regarding their perturbability and their mechanistic local-global effects. Using a synchronous protocol, we successfully transitioned from the resting state to the meditative state by shifting areas mainly from the somatomotor and dorsal attention networks. Overall, our work reveals distinct whole-brain dynamics in meditation compared to rest, and how the meditation state can be induced with localized artificial perturbations. It motivates future work regarding meditation as a practice in health and as a potential therapy for brain disorders.
... Physiologically, being conscious correlates with increased respiratory capacity 108 , and an increase in heart rate variability 109 which in turn correlates with a lower risk of sudden cardiac death 110 . Meditation practitioners have been found to quickly discard negative stimuli 111 , and are better able to detect environmental stimuli 112 . ...
This book main thesis is that developing and understanding our belonging emotional self is critical to have a fulfilling social and individual life. It explains why essentialism and rationality have underrated the role of emotions. It presents the evolutionary neurobiology of emotions which shows that feelings are critical; and the psychology of belonging that shows the centrality of emotions in human’s psychobiological balance. Humans’ powerful language and imagination, that allows them to communicate and transmit culture, cannot be understood without emotions. Emotions, through feelings, relate humans’ conscious beings to the old survival homeostasis of life; without excluding reason, we better listen to them.
It shows that traditional efforts to modify emotions have follow a cognitive route, in which the reason is involve, and they have been successful to a large extent. But argues that, due to the influence of feelings, emotions have a language of their own, and that they can and should also be developed independently of reason. It presents a six steps feedback loop to improve our psychobiological well-being. This six steps feedback loop considers our evolutionary background and the importance of feelings, without denying the relevance of cognitive methods to improve emotions.
It argues that a rational human society does not have the required evolutionary survival characteristics. Human societies must be emotional societies. Therefore, it sustains that learning to listen to feelings and emotions is not only relevant for individuals, but also for societies.
... Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), derived from MBSR by Segal, Williams, and Teasdale, is frequently employed as a preventive measure against depression relapse. (6) MATERIALS & METHODS An observational study was conducted in Gujarat, India, after approval from the institutional ethical committee. Data collection was done through MAAS scale created by Google Forms. ...
Background and need of research: Assessment of mindfulness is essential to understanding its relationship with cognition functions such as attention, awareness, etc. While mindfulness has demonstrated many advantages in the workplace, the objective of this research is to assess the mindfulness in computer users using Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Methods: An observational study was conducted in Computer worker of Gujarat State. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were filled from 104 computer users of both the gender between age group of 18 to 25 through online Google forms. Ethical clearance has been taken. Result: The Statistical analysis of this study shows that Components No.3 (Somewhat Frequently) of MAAS had the greatest number of responses (Mean±SD=40.64±15.61). If you want to check the Low Mindfulness, ask the question no.12 (I drive places on "automatic pilot" and then wonder how I got there). (Mean=39.42). Conclusion: The study concluded that 60.45% of Computer Users had Low to Moderate level of mindfulness. Clinical implications: Yoga, Meditation and Breathing exercises, Cognitive exercises. Key words: Mindfulness, Computer users, Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale, MAAS.
... Numerous writings suggest that mindfulness training improves two disparate forms of attention described as 'concentrative' and 'receptive' attention (Brown, 1977;Pfeiffer, 1966;Delmonte, 1987;Semple, 1999;Speeth, 1982;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). In the former, attention is restricted to a specific focus, such as the breath. ...
... Moreover, mindful observation as well as other mindfulness practices were recommended to improve attention and counteract distraction. Results are in line with previous research in extra-musical field on enhanced attentional skills resulting from meditation practice (Lutz et al., 2008;Malinowski, 2013;Valentine & Sweet, 1999;Van Leeuwen et al., 2012). ...
Music performance anxiety (MPA) affects numerous musicians, preventing them from performing to the full extent of their abilities. A variety of tools are used to cope with MPA among which is meditation. Although research conducted to date has made a distinction between the types of meditative techniques and their effects, this aspect is still not thoroughly investigated. The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate the experience of specialists in the field and identify the meditations employed for counteracting MPA. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were held with experts; recordings and transcripts were verified multiple times and imported into NVivo software. Thematic analysis was conducted, developing three main themes which illustrate how the experts describe MPA, the influencing factors for the effectiveness of meditation, the employed meditative techniques and how they reduce MPA. Within the last theme, body-centered meditations and breathing techniques, along with visualizations and Vipassana meditation, occupy a prominent place. Results show furthermore that affect-centered meditations offer interesting perspectives for counteracting perfectionism and self-criticism. The findings of this study may be of interest to educational institutions and musicians who want to acquire emotional awareness, self-regulation strategies for counteracting MPA, and improving performance skills.
... In turn, mindfulness minimizes mind-wandering (Brewer et al., 2011;Hasenkamp et al., 2012), decreases distractibility (Y.-Y. Tang et al., 2007), and improves attentional stability (Mrazek et al., 2012;Valentine and Sweet, 1999). Therefore, mindful individuals may be better equipped to notice seemingly unrelated information in their surroundings and spontaneously recognize entrepreneurial opportunities. ...
Entrepreneurial venture creation hinges on opportunity recognition, which is enabled by malleable cognitive characteristics such as alertness, creativity, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Meditation presents a promising strategy for cultivating these antecedents. In two studies, we examined the immediate effects of meditation on the antecedents of opportunity recognition. In Study 1, a 12-min guided meditation was administered to nascent entrepreneurs in a pre-post within-subjects experimental design. In Study 2, a 15-min breath counting task was used to assess how variations in accuracy and breathing rate shaped differences in outcomes. We found that the intervention in Study 1 had a small effect on alertness (d = 0.44), a medium effect on creativity (d = 0.79), and a large effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy (d = 0.93). Study 2 revealed a more nuanced relationship, whereby faster breathing rates predicted greater counting accuracy and alertness; in contrast, slower breathing rates and more frequent mind-wandering predicted greater uniqueness in the generated ideas. These findings suggest that meditation is useful for nascent entrepreneurs to prime their minds for successful opportunity recognition. The improvement in creativity may not solely be due to meditative practice itself but rather to the periods of mind-wandering that occur during the practice.
... We tried to explain this result using both the "dual competition framework" and "approach-avoidance framework" (Marsh et al., 2005). Notably, it has been suggested that mindfulness enhances the efficiency of attentional resource distribution (Chan & Woollacott, 2007;Jha et al., 2007;Kozasa et al., 2012;Kuo & Yeh, 2015;Tang et al., 2007;Valentine & Sweet, 1999;Wang et al., 2021;Zeidan et al., 2010), and might increase attentional resources (Kramer et al., 2013). Research shows that angry face processing requires a lot of attentional resources (see Gupta et al., 2016), and attention is required for response inhibition (see the executive act of control model of Logan & Cowan, 1984). ...
Mindfulness enhances executive control and regulates emotion, but the role of mindfulness in response inhibition in emotional contexts remains unclear. The present study used a stop-signal task to investigate the interactive effect of mindfulness, response inhibition, and emotions. Individuals with prior experience in mindfulness meditation and no meditation experience participated in the study. In the stop-signal task, participants responded to the target stimulus using keypress on go trials and inhibited the response on stop trials. On each trial, an emotional face (prime; angry, happy, or neutral) preceded the target stimulus, but they were instructed to ignore the face. After the task, participants filled out self-report scales associated with attention and awareness, affect, mood, and impulsivity. No group differences were found on any self-report measure. The task results showed that happy face primes enhanced response inhibition in non-meditators, whereas angry face primes enhanced response inhibition in mindfulness meditators. The results are explained through functional perspectives of how mindfulness influences attentional resource deployment to emotional stimuli, affecting response processes over time. The study demonstrates the existence of emotional asymmetry in the inhibitory process arising from mindfulness practice. The findings contribute to understanding the temporally dynamic patterns through which mindfulness modulates the attention-emotion interface to promote meaning in the face of difficulty.
... Focused attention on bodily experiences (e.g., breath sensations) is also categorized as body-centred meditation within an embodied framework that incorporates the influence of bodily states on psychological processes (see Matko and Sedlmeier (2019) for detailed categorization). Focused attention meditation trains attentional capacity, meta-awareness and interoceptive sensitivity necessary to effectively approach other advanced meditation states and techniques (Jha et al., 2007;Laukkonen & Slagter, 2021;Trungpa, 2002;Valentine & Sweet, 1999). On its own, practice of this meditation technique can enhance attentional regulation and mitigate habitual thinking patterns that may be maladaptive (Laukkonen & Slagter, 2021;Wenk-Sormaz, 2005). ...
Objectives
Mapping the neurobiology of meditation using 3 Tesla functional MRI (fMRI) has burgeoned recently. However, limitations in signal quality and neuroanatomical resolution have impacted reliability and precision of extant findings. Although ultra-high strength 7 Tesla MRI overcomes these limitations, investigation of meditation using 7 Tesla fMRI is still in its infancy.
Methods
In this feasibility study, we scanned 10 individuals who were beginner meditators using 7 Tesla fMRI while they performed focused attention meditation and non-focused rest. We also measured and adjusted the fMRI signal for key physiological differences between meditation and rest. Finally, we explored the 2-week impact of the single fMRI meditation session on mindfulness, anxiety and focused attention attributes.
Results
Group-level task fMRI analyses revealed significant reductions in activity during meditation relative to rest in Default-mode network hubs, i.e., antero-medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices, precuneus, as well as visual and thalamic regions. These findings survived stringent statistical corrections for fluctuations in physiological responses which demonstrated significant differences (p < 0.05/n, Bonferroni controlled) between meditation and rest. Compared to baseline, State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) scores were significantly elevated (F = 8.16, p<0.05/n, Bonferroni controlled) following the fMRI meditation session, and were closely maintained at 2-week follow up.
Conclusions
This pilot study establishes the feasibility and utility of investigating focused attention meditation using ultra-high strength (7 Tesla) fMRI, by supporting widespread evidence that focused attention meditation attenuates Default-mode activity responsible for self-referential processing. Future functional neuroimaging studies of meditation should control for physiological confounds and include behavioural assessments.
... One of the main emphases of mind-body practices is the use and training of attention [40]. The participants in Valentine et al. study [50] improved their attention over time after a brief mind-body practices intervention, and Mrazek et al. [41] demonstrated that mind-body practices can improve concentration, working memory, and recognition memory. As the mental skills acquired through mindbody practices can be used in work domains [15], we believed the improved attention and thought processes generated by engagement in mind-body practices may increase problem-solving confidence at work. ...
... Meditation has shown a positive impact on attention. [10] A study In modern times, people are suffering from numerous types of difficulties. Stress and mental problems have become part of one's life. ...
In modern times, people are suffering from numerous types of difficulties. Stress and mental problems have become
part of one’s life. Excessive use of mobile phones, other electronic devices, and drug intake has caused many
cognitive and mental problems. Attention, memory, and cognitive functions are affected by electronic and digital
devices. Previous studies have shown that yoga can reduce stress and anxiety and improve cognitive functions
such as attention and memory. The patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome search strategy was used to
identify the keywords. Using the key words “yoga and attention,” 285 studies were identified from three databases
(PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct) and a search engine (Google Scholar). For discussion, 18 studies
were included in the review. There was a wide range of age groups where the effectiveness of yoga on attention
had been researched. This systematic review also revealed that attention in children also depends on memory
development and anxiety. The particular study on the systematic reviews showed the high effectiveness of yoga,
yogic exercises, mindfulness, and other yogic techniques on the level of attention among children. The study also
revealed the coexistence of attention with memory development.
Key Words: Attention, children, memory, yoga
... Using MBI's to improve learning via enhancement of executive functions makes theoretical sense. The ability to focus attention is a cornerstone of both mindfulness practice and successful learning (Fisher, 2019;Steinmayr et al., 2010;Valentine and Sweet, 1999). Indeed, sustaining attention, in particular, appears to play an essential supporting role in enhancing other cognitive functions such as memory (Fortenbaugh et al., 2017) and is related to academic success (Polderman et al., 2010;Posner and Rothbart, 2005). ...
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are an increasingly popular way of attempting to enhance the cognitive, emotional and behavioral outcomes of adults and young people. However, researchers have not explored in detail MBIs utility in improving learning outcomes. A literature search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of MBIs found 10 studies that examined learning outcomes. A meta-analysis revealed tentative evidence of MBIs improving learning outcomes, with effects that sustained for at least 3 months. However, because most of the studies had small sample sizes and showed evidence of bias, results must be interpreted cautiously.
... 2007), facilitation of coping with unexpected events (Valentine & Sweet, 1999), and promotion of divergent thinking and cognitive flexibility (Colzato et al., 2012). These factors might facilitate goal disengagement (Brandtstädter & Rothermund, 2002;Hommel, 2015). ...
While research on tenacious goal pursuit and persistence has evoked a myriad of research efforts, research on goal disengagement has rather been neglected and has been focusing mainly on positive consequences of individual differences in goal disengagement capacities. In recent years, however, research on goal disengagement has seen an upsurge in studies, specifically addressing the conceptualization of goal disengagement, the processes involved, and factors facilitating or undermining it. However, many questions remain unanswered or only partly answered providing numerous opportunities for further investigation.
With this special issue of Motivation and Emotion, we aim to stimulate such progress in research on goal disengagement. To this end, this special issue includes empirical studies with cross-sectional, prospective, longitudinal, and experimental designs with a wide range of personal and experimentally induced goals as well as invited commentaries from scholars across different psychological sub disciplines.
In this introductory essay, we provide a brief review of the current state of goal disengagement research. We also provide an overview about the contributions to this special issue with reflections related to the current state of research and areas where further advancement in conceptualization and empirical studies is needed.
... The different traditions of Buddhism emphasize either awareness/mindfulness or concentration/absorption, both of which affect and promote behaviors (Mikulas, 2011). Experienced meditators perform better on the Wilkins counting test than inexperienced meditators (Wilkins et al., 1987;Valentine and Sweet, 1999). Young adults who practiced OM and FM for a week had better executive function scores on an emotional variant of the Attention Network Test than those in a control group that practiced only relaxation techniques (Ainsworth et al., 2013). ...
Background
Mindfulness affects human levels of experience by facilitating the immediate and impartial perception of phenomena, including sensory stimulation, emotions, and thoughts. Mindfulness is now a focus of neuroimaging, since technical and methodological developments in magnetic resonance imaging have made it possible to observe subjects performing mindfulness tasks.
Objective
We set out to describe the association between mental processes and characteristics of mindfulness, including their specific cerebral patterns, as shown in structural and functional neuroimaging studies.
Methods
We searched the MEDLINE databank of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics via PubMed using the keywords: “mindfulness,” “focused attention (FA),” “open monitoring (OM),” “mind wandering,” “emotional regulation,” “magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)” and “default mode network (DMN).” This review extracted phenomenological experiences across populations with varying degrees of mindfulness training and correlated these experiences with structural and functional neuroimaging patterns. Our goal was to describe how mindful behavior was processed by the constituents of the default mode network during specific tasks.
Results and conclusions
Depending on the research paradigm employed to explore mindfulness, investigations of function that used fMRI exhibited distinct activation patterns and functional connectivities. Basic to mindfulness is a long-term process of learning to use meditation techniques. Meditators progress from voluntary control of emotions and subjective preferences to emotional regulation and impartial awareness of phenomena. As their ability to monitor perception and behavior, a metacognitive skill, improves, mindfulness increases self-specifying thoughts governed by the experiential phenomenological self and reduces self-relational thoughts of the narrative self. The degree of mindfulness (ratio of self-specifying to self-relational thoughts) may affect other mental processes, e.g., awareness, working memory, mind wandering and belief formation. Mindfulness prevents habituation and the constant assumptions associated with mindlessness. Self-specifying thinking during mindfulness and self-relational thinking in the narrative self relies on the default mode network. The main constituents of this network are the dorsal and medial prefrontal cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex. These midline structures are antagonistic to self-specifying and self-relational processes, since the predominant process determines their differential involvement. Functional and brain volume changes indicate brain plasticity, mediated by mental training over the long-term.
Alcohol has complex and multifarious effects on cognition. One means by which alcohol can influence a wide variety of cognitive behaviors is through its effects on attention. This study investigated the effects of alcohol consumption on sustained attention, or vigilance. We report here a high-powered study in which participants consumed either an alcoholic or a non-alcoholic beverage and then completed a spatial vigilance task, with half of the subjects in each condition receiving two rest breaks interleaved throughout the task. Alcohol impaired vigilance performance and also decreased the local recuperative benefit of rest breaks. Difference in decision processes were apparent, with intoxicated participants employing a more liberal and less optimal response criterion. These findings underscore the detrimental effects of alcohol on attention and provide novel evidence that rest is less effective following alcohol consumption.
During the last four decades there has been a significant growth of interest in mindfulness-based practices and their potential to foster improvements in health, wellbeing and human functioning in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. With this growth has come a renewed interest in understanding the psychological processes involved as well as the neuropsychological mechanisms by which such practices operate and effect transformative personal experiences and positive change. The current perspective paper (i) presents a basic taxonomy of meditation types and the structure and function of the processes believed to be involved, (ii) describes these components in terms of key neuroanatomical regions of interest, and (iii) critically appraises current findings regarding EEG measures as they relate to different aspects of meditation, functional activity and connectivity across regions of interest. The correlates between mindfulness and EEG are well described in terms of attentional and interoceptive processes and neuroanatomical regions of interest. To a lesser extent, there is also a growing understanding of such correlates for meditation techniques centred on compassion and loving-kindness meditation. However, the same does not apply to wisdom-based and null-state meditation practices where consistent associations between neuropsychological processes and EEG characteristics have proven elusive. These latter practices are viewed by many as key to fostering the deeper transformative experiences underlying psychological and spiritual development, and although studies of null-state meditation have yielded promising theoretical developments, more research is required. Future research could also benefit from better standardisation of EEG measures and analytic techniques to allow more robust metanalyses, and greater consistency of terminology regarding the fundamental components of meditation practice.
This study aimed at exploring the level of Spiritual
Intelligence among Yarmouk University students, and whether this
level varies according to students gender and level of achievement. It
also aimed at determining the possibility of predicting academic
achievement from the components of Spiritual Intelligence. The
sample consisted of (256) students selected from the Faculty of
Education at Yarmouk University. The study results showed that the
level of Spiritual Intelligence was medium, with no significant
differences in the level of Spiritual Intelligence or any of its
dimensions due to the sex factor. Significant differences were found in
the level of Spiritual Intelligence and the dimensions of Critical
Existential Thinking, Personal Meaning Production, Transcendental
Awareness due to achievement level in favor of the high achievement
level. The results also showed that Critical Existential Thinking,
Personal Meaning Production, and Transcendental Awareness
domains can predict academic achievement.(Keywords: Spiritual
Intelligence, Academic Achievement).
The improvements in attention by mindfulness training have been proved. However, the effects of mindfulness training on attention to emotional stimuli were mixed. We employed a randomized, controlled design to investigate the effects of mindfulness training on attention to emotional expressions, and investigated whether baseline levels of dispositional mindfulness and emotional intelligence would moderate the intervention effects. Forty participants received 8‐week mindfulness training, and another forty participants attended two lectures about mindfulness. All participants completed the visual search task, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Emotional Intelligence Scale at both pre‐training and post‐training. The results showed that the improvements in search efficiencies were larger in the mindfulness group than those in the control group for sad and angry faces, but not for happy faces. In addition, baseline emotional intelligence but not dispositional mindfulness played a significant moderating role in the relationship between mindfulness training and emotional attention to sadness and anger. The search efficiencies of negative emotions (i.e., anger and sadness) but not positive emotions (i.e., happiness) were significantly improved by mindfulness training. Individuals with a high level of baseline emotional intelligence showed significant improvement in search efficiencies relative to those with a low level of emotional intelligence.
In today's time of excessive workload, maladaptive ways to deal with day-today situations weather personal or professional, majority of people from all stands of life are victim of stress. This makes it important to understand the individual perception of stress in individual's life. Hence this study focuses on the perception of stress among the 3 rd and 4 th class employees and the readiness of employees for an intervention for stress management at workplace. The data was collected through a Semi structured interview on 30 participants. Thematic analysis was adopted for the analysis. On analyzing the data various codes were drawn. The themes were made through inductive analysis of the data. The themes were derived which were 'Nature of stressor, 'Reinforcement', 'Relationships', 'Active and Passive dealing', 'Personal and organizational'. It can be concluded that the effectiveness of the intervention is higher at the early stage of the working in comparison to the employees at a much later stage of. At the initial stage when you are more vulnerable and armature to deal with the situations you need the skills and training from the workshop. As it is seen with much researches that with time employees automatically learn the skills over time. The readiness of the employees found out to be the key factor behind the success or failure of any intervention.
Neuroelectric and imaging studies of meditation are reviewed. Electroencephalographic measures indicate an overall slowing subsequent to meditation, with theta and alpha activation related to proficiency of practice. Sensory evoked potential assessment of concentrative meditation yields amplitude and latency changes for some components and practices. Cognitive event-related potential evaluation of meditation implies that practice changes attentional allocation. Neuroimaging studies indicate increased regional cerebral blood flow measures during meditation. Taken together, meditation appears to reflect changes in anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal areas. Neurophysiological meditative state and trait effects are variable but are beginning to demonstrate consistent outcomes for research and clinical applications. Psychological and clinical effects of meditation are summarized, integrated, and discussed with respect to neuroimaging data.
Conventional Buddhist texts illustrate meditation as a condition of relaxed alertness that must fend against extreme hypoarousal (sleep, drowsiness) and extreme hyperarousal (restlessness). Theoretical, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging investigations of meditation have highlighted the relaxing effects and hypoarousing without emphasizing the alertness-promoting effects. Here we performed a systematic review supported by an activation-likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis in an effort to counterbalance the surfeit of scholarship emphasizing the hypoarousing and relaxing effects of different forms of Buddhist meditation. Specifically, the current systematic review-cum-meta-analytical review seeks to highlight more support for meditation’s wake-promoting effects by drawing from neuroimaging research during wakefulness and meditation. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 fMRI studies, we aim to highlight support for Buddhist meditation’s wake-promoting or arousing effects by identifying brain regions associated with alertness during meditation. The most significant peaks were localized medial frontal gyrus (MFG) and precuneus. We failed to determine areas ostensibly common to alertness-related meditation such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), superior parietal lobule, basal ganglia, thalamus, most likely due to the relatively fewer fMRI investigations that used wakefulness-promoting meditation techniques. Also, we argue that forthcoming research on meditation, related to alertness or wakefulness, continues to adopt a multi-modal method to investigate the correlation between actual behaviors and neural networks connected to Buddhist meditation. Moreover, we recommend the implementation of fMRI paradigms on Buddhist meditation with clinically diagnosed participants to complement recent trends in psychotherapy such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).
This comment on “Mindfulness for global public health: Critical analysis and agenda” by Doug Oman focuses on the difficulties associated with the current use and understanding of the term mindfulness. In particular, I argue that the current lack of agreement on what mindfulness practice is, or, perhaps more realistically, what mindfulness practices are, and how their effects can be explained might jeopardize such an integration process in the long run. In the literature, one can find widely differing conceptions of what constitutes a mindfulness practice. Moreover, there is clear evidence that different mindfulness practices can yield quite different effects. This holds for the comparison of “mindfulness packages” but also for comparisons of single components of these packages, and for incremental combinations of components. There is also strong evidence that mindfulness practices do not work equally well for different purposes and different people. These differential effects need to be elaborated and explained. Unfortunately, theoretical models for mindfulness practices are also still quite heterogeneous. As a first step, researchers and practitioners could be very specific about what they mean by mindfulness practice or even use alternative terms for different practices. Moreover, they could stay open to alternative forms of meditation and put as much theory as possible into their research to eventually find out when, how, and why specific mindfulness practices (and packages thereof) work and for whom.
The present study examined the efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) in assertiveness and social maturity among college students. One hundred (100) students participated in the study. They were assessed on Rathus Assertiveness Scale and Social Maturity Scale. Fifty two students were selected and exposed to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for a duration of 45minutes to 1hour every alternative day (week days) for a period of 2 weeks. After completion of 6 sessions, they were reassessed with the same two measures. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapy comprised of psychoeducation, self-monitoring, cognitive rehearsal, role play/modeling, and homework assignments. Significant difference was seen on three phases i.e., Pre, Post and Follow-Up. Mean, S.D, Repeated Measures MANOVA was computed to analyze the data. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was found to be effective in enhancing the level of assertiveness and social maturity among college students.
In ‘The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness’, the Buddha mentioned “There is this one way for the purification of beings, for overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for extinguishing of stress and suffering, for attaining to higher knowledge, and for the realisation of liberation” (Digha Nikaya 22). This ‘one way’ is the application of mindfulness meditation on body, feelings, mind, and phenomena. Such wisdom words of an enlightened teacher uttered more than 2,500 years ago are timeless truths which modern science has just begun to uncover.
For four decades since Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School to introduce the structured practice of mindfulness, the interest in mindfulness and other forms of meditation has grown exponentially. Meditation is no longer merely a spiritual quest practised at secluded religious centres but a mainstream mind-body therapy for health and wellbeing. Meditation classes are everywhere: hospitals, mental health clinics, nursing homes, the military, correctional centres, sports centres, universities, schools, and even in nurseries. Research has played a pivotal role to usher in this newfound interest in meditation. There is growing evidence supporting the health benefits of meditation in reducing stress, managing pain, enhancing cognition, improving resilience, cultivating positive emotions, and much more. However, cumulative knowledge on the study of meditation from various research disciplines including neuroscience, psychophysiology, cognitive science, mental health and public health represent only the tip of the iceberg. There is still much to discover from these ancient mind and body practices.
This book is a compilation of recent research in the field of meditation. It provides a snapshot of exciting findings and developments such as the launch of a large-scale UK study to operationalise mindfulness in the mental health system, the possibility that Zen meditation can slow down cardiopulmonary ageing, a theoretical framework for describing meditation interventions in health research, the potential for meditation to address health inequality, the use of mindful self-compassion to enhance the wellbeing of adult learners, and the case study of a clinical psychologist and meditation teacher sharing her first-hand experience of living with spondylolisthesis in relative peace through applying mindfulness strategies. The included articles further contribute to our understanding of the role of meditation in health, defined by the World Health Organization as “not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing”.
It is an honour to be academic editors for this Special Issue and a great pleasure to review many insightful manuscripts first-hand. We wish to thank the publisher for this excellent opportunity to serve the research community. We are also grateful for the hard work and support provided by the editorial office to make this project a success. To all the authors, thank you for your contributions. To the readers, thank you for your interest. A plethora of quality works from the latest meditation research await in the following pages. May you gain many useful insights!
Complexity of the modern era has led to increased difficulties of people, especially the youth. Living in the current stressful, uncertain, and highly stimulating technological era is not very easy for the young ones. Hence, there is an urgency to teach skills of stress management and resilience among children through mindfulness-based practices. This change in the present scenario has attracted the attention and interest of psychologists and educationists to the practice of mindfulness-based interventions with children and adolescents for enhancing their overall well-being. The last few years have observed a growing number of research and applications of mindfulness in educational settings because of its effectiveness and the urgent need of prevention and interventions of the youths' problems. In this chapter, the author has discussed research supporting the idea of mindfulness in education for both students and teachers and its usage to increase the academic performance, enhance overall wellbeing, and reduce the stress level of youth.
Mental control refers to the ability to control our own minds. Its primary expression, attention has become a popular topic for philosophers in the past few decades, generating the need for a primer on the concept. It is related to self-control, which typically refers to the maintenance of preferred behavior in the face of temptation. While a distinct concept, criticisms of self-control can also be applied to mental control, such as that it implies the existence of an unscientific homunculus-like agent or is not a natural kind. Yet, as this Element suggests, a scientifically-grounded account of mental control remains possible. The Element is organized into five main sections, which cover the concept of mental control, the relationship between mental control and attention, the phenomena of meditation and mind-wandering, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and emergence-based accounts of mental control, including an original account by the author.
Incorporating the theoretical conceptualizations of Jon Kabat-Zinn and Ellen Langer, this volume illustrates how performers from a variety of disciplines - including sport, dance and music - can use mindfulness to achieve peak performance and improve personal well-being. Leading scholars in the field present cutting-edge research and outline their unique approach to mindfulness that is supported by both theory and practice. They provide an overview of current mindfulness-based manuals and programs used around the globe in countries such as the United States, China and Australia, exploring their effectiveness across cultures. Mindfulness and Performance will be a beneficial reference for practitioners, social and sport psychologists, coaches, athletes, teachers and students.
Prior to each target letter string presented visually to 120 university students in a speeded word–nonword classification task, either {bird, body, building,} or {xxx} appeared as a priming event. Five types of word-prime/word-target trials were used: bird-robin, bird-arm, body-door, body-sparrow, and body-heart. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between prime and target letter string varied between 250 and 2,000 msec. At 2,000-msec SOA, reaction times (RTs) on bird-robin type trials were faster than on xxx-prime trials (facilitation), whereas RTs on bird-arm type trials were slower than on xxx-prime (inhibition). As SOA decreased, the facilitation effect on bird-robin trials remained constant, but the inhibition effect on bird-arm decreased until, at 250-msec SOA, there was no inhibition. For Shift conditions at 2,000-msec SOA, facilitation was obtained on body-door type trials and inhibition was obtained on body-sparrow type. These effects decreased as SOA decreased until there was no facilitation or inhibition. On body-heart type trials, there was an inhibition effect at 2,000 msec SOA, which decreased as SOA decreased until, at 250-msec SOA, it became a facilitation effect. Results support the theory of M. I. Posner and S. R. Snyder (1975) that postulated 2 distinct components of attention: a fast automatic inhibitionless spreading-activation process and a slow limited-capacity conscious-attention mechanism. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the hypothesis that everyday cognitive failures are associated over individuals with levels of focused-attention performance, using 136 undergraduates. Everyday cognitive failure was assessed by the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and focused-attention performance was assessed using the Stroop Color–Word Test, reverse Stroop, and dichotic-listening paradigms, together with the Embedded Figures Test. No reliable association between the 2 types of measure was observed. In addition, questionnaire results indicated a significant relation between reported cognitive failure and memory performance (using the Short Inventory of Memory Experiences and the Everyday Memory Questionnaire) but not attentional performance (using the Everyday Attention Questionnaire). (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Unpaid, normal volunteers (20 men and 20 women) were administered the autokinetic test, the embedded-figures test (EFT), and the rod-and-frame test (RFT) prior to meditation instruction. After 3 mo. of instruction in Transcendental Meditation, Ss were retested and demonstrated increased ego distance and field independence on all of the above tests. These variations in an autonomic, enduring response clarify several issues in research on perceptual style and meditation.
A review of neuropsychological and psychophysiological data on attention suggests that there are 3 separate, but interacting, neural systems: One controls arousal, which is defined in terms of phasic physiological responses to input. The arousal control circuits center on the amygdala. A 2nd system controls activation, which is defined in terms of tonic physiological readiness to respond. The readiness circuits center on the basal ganglia of the forebrain. A 3rd system is discerned which coordinates arousal and activation. This coordinating activity is defined as demanding effort. Its circuitry centers on the hippocampus. When arousal, activation, and effort are involved in problem solving, at least 2 further distinctions can be made. During categorizing, arousal precedes activation; during reasoning, activation precedes arousal. The question of whether effort in problem solving is to be attributed solely to peripheral muscular factors or whether direct monitoring of changes in brain organization can be productive of measurable indicators of effort is examined. (6 p ref)
Explored differences in attentional absorption and trait anxiety in 58 undergraduates divided into 4 groups: (a) controls who were interested in but did not practice meditation, (b) beginners who had meditated for 1 mo or less, (c) short-term meditators who regularly practiced for 1-24 mos, and (d) long-term meditators who practiced for more than 2 yrs. Ss were administered the Shor Personal Experiences Questionnaire (PEQ), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in trait form. As predicted, significant increases in the PEQ and TAS and significant decrements in the STAI were observed from controls through long-term meditators. This pattern, associated with the practice of meditation (i.e., decrements in trait anxiety and increments in the capacity to attend), is consistent with physiological data indicating that meditation is associated with decrements in autonomic arousal and increments in cortical responsivity.
This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation for patients with anxiety disorders.
The 22 study participants were screened with a structured clinical interview and found to meet the DSM-III-R criteria for generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Assessments, including self-ratings and therapists' ratings, were obtained weekly before and during the meditation-based stress reduction and relaxation program and monthly during the 3-month follow-up period.
Repeated measures analyses of variance documented significant reductions in anxiety and depression scores after treatment for 20 of the subjects--changes that were maintained at follow-up. The number of subjects experiencing panic symptoms was also substantially reduced. A comparison of the study subjects with a group of nonstudy participants in the program who met the initial screening criteria for entry into the study showed that both groups achieved similar reductions in anxiety scores on the SCL-90-R and on the Medical Symptom Checklist, suggesting generalizability of the study findings.
A group mindfulness meditation training program can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and panic and can help maintain these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or panic disorder with agoraphobia.
Neurological patients were presented with a succession of 2-11 stimuli which they were required to count, reporting the number in the series when it finished. The stimuli were binaural clicks, or pulses on the right or on the left index finger. Regardless of stimulus modality or lateralization, patients with lesions involving the right frontal lobe were impaired when the presentation rate was 1/sec. There was no corresponding impairment when the presentation rate was increased to 7/sec. It is argued that at slow rates when the task was monotonous patients with right-frontal lesions were less able than others to sustain attention voluntarily.
Studied the effects that training in meditation might have on selected aspects of the cognitive and affective functioning of 26 disadvantaged 3rd graders. Ss were given meditation practice over an 18-wk period. 2 control groups were formed. The data indicate that relative to the control groups, Ss who practiced meditation (a) became more field independent, as measured by the Children's Embedded Figures Test, and (b) became less test anxious, as measured by the Test Anxiety Scale for Children. No effect on level of reading achievement was apparent. Results suggest that through meditation practice the individual may learn how to concentrate and to alter volitionally his feeling state by shifting his attention.
Administered a questionnaire containing items of varied content believed to be related to hypnotizability to 481 female undergraduates. 2 subsamples of 142 and 171 Ss, respectively, also completed Block's Ego Resiliency and Ego Control questionnaire scales and the Group Scales of Hypnotic Susceptibility. Analysis of the combined questionnaire data yielded 3 replicated higher order factors: the familiar dimensions of Stability and Introversion and a 3rd factor, Absorption. Absorption is interpreted as a disposition for having episodes of "total" attention that fully engage one's representational (i.e., perceptual, enactive, imaginative, and ideational) resources. This kind of attentional functioning is believed to result in a heightened sense of the reality of the attentional object, imperviousness to distracting events, and an altered sense of reality in general, including an empathically altered sense of self. Only Absorption was consistently correlated with hypnotizability. Absorption appears to be of interest for the study of hypnosis and personality. (38 ref)
Reviews the research literature on the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the effects of meditation. A summary of the research in which the somatic arousal of meditating Ss was compared to the somatic arousal of resting Ss did not reveal any consistent differences between meditating and resting Ss on measures of heart rate, electrodermal activity, respiration rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, skin temperature, oxygen consumption, EMG activity, blood flow, or various biochemical factors. Similarly, a review of the research on the effects of meditation in controlling arousal in threatening situations did not reveal any consistent differences between meditating and nonmeditating (no-treatment, antimeditation, or relaxation) Ss. These conclusions are in contrast to the widely held beliefs about the effects of meditation. (72 ref)
In order to explore the psychological functions involved in meditation, 28 male college student volunteers were instructed in a concentration exercise related to Zen Buddhist procedures. Their response to the exercise was rated as high, moderate, and low from verbal reports taken after daily 45-min. sessions over a 2-3 wk. period. Response was then compared with premeditation test results related to attention, tolerance for unrealistic experience, and capacity for regression in the service of the ego (derived from Rorschach expressions of "primary process" and from spontaneous visual imagery). Capacity for regression and tolerance for unrealistic experience significantly predicted response to meditation, while attention measures did not. Once issues related to comfort in the face of strange inner experience are resolved, attention functions necessary to the exercise probably became available. (15 ref.)
In the first of two experiments investigating focussed attention, sets of four pairs of digits were dichotically presented to subjects who were instructed to attend to digits arriving in either the left or the right ear. Following presentation, two different report orders were used: attended followed by unattended, and unattended followed by attended. It was found that unattended items did not suffer from being recalled second rather than first. The serial position curve for unattended items was U-shaped. These results were interpreted as evidence that unattended items are not retained in a limited-capacity auditory buffer with a fast rate of loss. The experiment was repeated using visually presented pairs of letters. A similar pattern of results was obtained, consistent with the hypothesis that unattended items are recalled from a store with a large capacity and a very slow rate of loss.
39 graduate students enrolled in counseling courses participated in an experiment designed to learn if practicing zazen could assist counselors to improve their empathic abilities. Experimental Ss, who volunteered for meditation, practiced zazen 30 min. each weekday over 4 wk. Of 2 control groups, which did not meditate, 1 consisted also of volunteers for zazen and 1 of meditation refusers. Tests of affective sensitivity (empathy), of openness to experience, and of self-actualization were administered to all Ss before and after treatment. Experimental Ss improved their empathic abilities significantly; control Ss did not. The effect is greatest in persons with low initial abilities. Both openness to experience and self-actualization are positively related to empathic ability. Depth of concentration reached in zazen is positively related to openness to experience. (50 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Following pretests on the Eysenck Personality Inventory and hypnotic susceptibility as measured by the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, 34 undergraduates attended nonanalytically for 20 15-min sessions and were then posttested. Sessions were defined as meditation for 11 Ss and as a study in attention style for 12 Ss. 11 Ss served as no-treatment controls. Meditators and attenders did not differ in their rate of signalling intrusions into their attending, and neither treatment affected hypnotic susceptibility or personality dimension scores. Ss defined as motivated to participate in the study did not differ initially in rate of intrusions from Ss who were unmotivated. At the end of the study, however, motivated Ss reported fewer intrusions than unmotivated Ss. Intrusion rate correlated significantly with hypnotic susceptibility. (German, French, & Spanish summaries) (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Tested 5 hypotheses related to the goals, religious orientation, and cognitions of long-term meditation with 27 students (mean age 35.6 yrs) of meditation who had signed up for a 2-wk or 3-mo meditation retreat. Ss completed the Motivation, Expectation, Adherence instrument (D. H. Shapiro, 1980) at baseline and 1 and 6 mo after the retreat. Results show that reasons for continuing meditation shifted overall along a continuum of self-regulation, self-exploration, and self-liberation as a function of time; that effects equaled or exceeded goals for the majority of Ss; and that the effects meditators received from the practice were significantly related to what they wanted. Length of practice was associated with religious orientation and with the nature of cognitions when the S did not practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated factors producing meditation effects in a study with 3 groups of 9 American undergraduates each. Group 1 meditated by performing a breath counting task for 15 min/day 5 times/wk for 3 wks, Group 2 sat "physically still" during the same periods as the meditators (but was not given a specific task to concentrate on), and Group 3 served as a non-experimental control. Pulse rates recorded at the onset and end of sessions showed a higher mean decrease in rate for Group 1 than Group 2, but this difference was not significant. Analysis of results of the Remote Associates Test for creativity and scores on pre-and posttest scores on the Personal Orientation Inventory produced no significant differences between groups. Intrusion data recorded for Group 1 for each of the 3 5-min periods during each of the 10 sessions showed a significant decrease in intrusion frequency across sessions, and a significant increase within sessions. Group 1 also gave higher rankings for the present in subjective categorization of intruding thoughts while Group 2 ranked past and future higher. Group 1's performance was significantly better than Group 2's on 1 of the 5 figures on the Embedded Figures Test. Overall findings are discrepant with previous research; it is suggested that the undergraduate meditator Ss (who were fulfilling course requirements) were not as "serious" as meditator Ss in other studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Four Yogis who practised samadhi were investigated electroencephalographically. It was observed that their resting records showed persistent alpha activity with increased amplitude modulation during samadhi. The alpha activity could not be blocked by various sensory stimuli during meditation.Two Yogis, who could keep their hand immersed in ice cold water for 45–55 min, also showed persistent alpha activity both before and during this practice.The possible mechanism of these observation has been discussed.
Asked 4 groups of 25 undergraduates who were trained meditators differing in amount of meditation practice and a group of 25 nonmeditators to attend nonanalytically to a mantra in 2 meditation sessions. Ss signaled intrusions into their attending, and were also assessed on several person variables. The 4 trained meditator groups differed from one another only in terms of self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). When combined into a single group, meditators signaled fewer intrusions and reported "deeper" levels of meditating than nonmeditators. However, meditators and nonmeditators did not differ on hypnotic susceptibility, absorption, or indices of psychopathology. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Scopolamine, a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, is capable of inducing transient memory impairment in normal subjects. Against the background of the cholinergic hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) the present study was designed to investigate the effects of low oral doses of scopolamine on a range of cognitive functions known or hypothesized to be affected in AD. Twenty healthy volunteers (18-48 yr) performed a battery of automated cognitive tasks under each of five treatments: oral scopolamine 0.3 mg, 0.6 mg, 1.2 mg; oral methylscopolamine 0.6 mg; placebo. Alongside analogous tests of verbal and non-verbal memory, the battery enabled assessments of a range of attentional functions: alerting, sustained attention, selective attention, and covert orientation. A profile of effects was observed within and beyond the realm of memory. While some functions were unaffected by the drug (e.g. alerting) and others were impaired at the highest dose (e.g. verbal learning) still others were affected in a linear dose-dependent manner (sustained attention; visual contrast sensitivity). These observations are discussed in the context of the "scopolamine model" of AD.
Ninety chronic pain patients were trained in mindfulness meditation in a 10-week Stress Reduction and Relaxation Program. Statistically significant reductions were observed in measures of present-moment pain, negative body image, inhibition of activity by pain, symptoms, mood disturbance, and psychological symptomatology, including anxiety and depression. Pain-related drug utilization decreased and activity levels and feelings of self-esteem increased. Improvement appeared to be independent of gender, source of referral, and type of pain. A comparison group of pain patients did not show significant improvement on these measures after traditional treatment protocols. At follow-up, the improvements observed during the meditation training were maintained up to 15 months post-meditation training for all measures except present-moment pain. The majority of subjects reported continued high compliance with the meditation practice as part of their daily lives. The relationship of mindfulness meditation to other psychological methods for chronic pain control is discussed.
In 1977 the American Psychiatric Association called for a critical examination of the clinical effectiveness of meditation. The author provides a review of the literature bearing on clinical and physiological comparisons of meditation with other self-control strategies. He begins by providing a definition of mediation and then cites the literature comparing mediation with such self-regulation strategies as biofeedback, hypnosis, and progressive relaxation. He pays particular attention to the "uniqueness" of mediation as a clinical intervention strategy a well as the adverse effects of meditation. Finally, he offers suggestions and guidelines for future research.
There is encouraging evidence that structured psychological treatments for depression, in particular cognitive therapy, can reduce subsequent relapse after the period of initial treatment has been completed. However, there is a continuing need for prophylactic psychological approaches that can be administered to recovered patients in euthymic mood. An information-processing analysis of depressive maintenance and relapse is used to define the requirements for effective prevention, and to propose mechanisms through which cognitive therapy achieves its prophylactic effects. This analysis suggests that similar effects can be achieved using techniques of stress-reduction based on the skills of attentional control taught in mindfulness meditation. An information-processing analysis is presented of mindfulness and mindlessness, and of their relevance to preventing depressive relapse. This analysis provides the basis for the development of Attentional Control Training, a new approach to preventing relapse that integrates features of cognitive therapy and mindfulness training and is applicable to recovered depressed patients.
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