Mindfulness has been described as an orienting of attention to the present moment, with openness and compassion. Individuals displaying high trait mindfulness exhibit this tendency as a more permanent personality attribute. Given the numerous physical and mental health benefits associated with mindfulness, there is a great interest in understanding the neural substrates of this trait. The...
Social NeuroscienceJuly 4, 2017Stephen D. Smith, Beverley Katherine Fredborg, J. Kornelsen
ABSTRACT Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a perceptual condition in which specific visual and auditory stimuli consistently trigger tingling sensations on the scalp and neck, sometimes spreading to the back and limbs. These triggering stimuli are often social, almost intimate, in nature (e.g., hearing whispering, or watching someone brush her hair), and often elicit a calm and...
From tentative beginnings the literature on near-death experiences has mushroomed beyond all computation. In the nature of the case, the bulk of this literature depends very much on anecdotal evidence and presupposes that those who claim to have experienced such phenomena are telling their stories in good faith. Despite a minority of dissenting voices, most of the doctors, psychologists and...