Behavioral Sciences
March 26, 2021
Fabio R M Dos Santos, Shirley S Lacerda, Cassia C Coelhoso et al.
Meditation and positive psychology have been reported as promising approaches to deal with stress. This exploratory pilot study aims to evaluate the efficacy of meditation and positive psychology-based intervention on stress. Two experiments are reported; in the first one, 29 healthcare professionals were included (intervention = 14; control = 15), and the second one included 57 women managers...
Neuroreport
December 5, 2018
Diego B G Rodrigues, Shirley S Lacerda, Joana B Balardin et al.
Among several cognitive advantages, meditation is thought to enhance practitioners' capacity for sustained attention. In the present study, we explored this question by testing meditation practitioners (meditators) and nonpractitioners (nonmeditators) on a task that requires sustained attention, the Stroop Word-Color Task (SWCT), while using functional MRI. Participants were all right-handed...
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
June 11, 2018
Elisa H. Kozasa, Joana B Balardin, João R. Sato et al.
Meditation as a cognitive enhancement technique is of growing interest in the field of health and research on brain function. The Stroop Word-Color Task (SWCT) has been adapted for neuroimaging studies as an interesting paradigm for the understanding of cognitive control mechanisms. Performance in the SWCT requires both attention and impulse control, which is trained in meditation practices. We...
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
2017
Rui F. Afonso, Joana B Balardin, Sara W. Lazar et al.
Yoga, a mind-body activity that requires attentional engagement, has been associated with positive changes in brain structure and function, especially in areas related to awareness, attention, executive functions and memory. Normal aging, on the other hand, has also been associated with structural and functional brain changes, but these generally involve decreased cognitive functions. The aim...
PLoS One
July 3, 2012
João R. Sato, Elisa H. Kozasa, Tamara A Russell et al.
Multivariate pattern recognition approaches have become a prominent tool in neuroimaging data analysis. These methods enable the classification of groups of participants (e.g. controls and patients) on the basis of subtly different patterns across the whole brain. This study demonstrates that these methods can be used, in combination with automated morphometric analysis of structural MRI, to...