The Neuroscience of Meditation by Yi-Yuan Tang and Rongxiang Tang, Academic Press, 2020, 234 pp.
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease September 8, 2020 D. Khalsa
This book critically examines the neuroscience of mindfulness meditation and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), arguing that the title is misleading because mindfulness is not synonymous with meditation. It notes that other well-researched techniques, such as Benson's Relaxation Response, Transcendental Meditation, and Kirtan Kriya, are underrepresented. The book covers precision medicine, genetics, nervous system effects, brain regions, personality, and meditation across the lifespan, concluding with future directions. It is a content-dense scientific resource but omits spiritual development and practical meditation instructions.