Frontiers in Psychology
August 28, 2026
Alessio Matiz, Sara Sorella, Giuseppe Pagnoni et al.
Introduction Although meditation practice encompasses both intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions, the differential effects of individual versus group meditation settings (IS vs. GS) remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to reduce this gap by comparing the effects of a mindfulness meditation session performed in the two settings, focusing in particular on mind-wandering (MW) dynamics....
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
March 27, 2026
Morgan Rose Healey, Yaser Sanchez-Gama, Mengyuan Ding et al.
Abstract Self-transcendence, the reorientation of experience away from the self toward others, nature, or broader meaning, is a fundamental dimension of human psychology, yet its causal neural architecture remains poorly understood. Here we applied lesion network mapping to 88 neurosurgical patients with pre- and post-operative assessments of trait self-transcendence to identify the distributed...
Mindfulness
April 23, 2025
Alessio Matiz, Stefania Pascut, Franco Fabbro et al.
3 citations
Abstract Objectives The study aimed to investigate the pre-to-post effects of mindfulness training on school teachers’ psychological and professional well-being, as well as to explore the moderating role of temperament and character on these effects. Method An 8-week mindfulness-based intervention was delivered via internet-based group meetings to Italian teachers ( n = 139), who were assessed...
Psychology Research and Behavior Management
2024
Alessio Matiz, Franco Fabbro, Cristiano Crescentini
4 citations
Acceptability of mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) in primary school settings seems to represent a critical factor influencing the intervention effects on children's mental health. This study aims at assessing the acceptability of an MBP delivered through the technique of storytelling, as well as identifying which participants' personality characteristics can influence it. Italian children in...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
January 20, 2022
Fabio D’Antoni, Alessio Matiz, Franco Fabbro et al.
Objectives: We explored the effects of a single 40-min session of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Brainspotting (BSP), and Body Scan Meditation (BSM) in the processing of distressing memories reported by a non-clinical sample of adult participants. Design: A within-subject design was used. Methods: Participants (n = 40 Psychologists/MDs) reported four distressing memories,...
Consciousness and Cognition
September 22, 2021
Alessio Matiz, Cristiano Crescentini, M. Bergamasco et al.
Mindfulness meditation usually takes place as personal, introspective activity. It is not known if this practice activates the brain differently when done alone or with someone else. Sixteen couples of expert meditators performed mindfulness-oriented meditation (MOM) and instructed mind-wandering (IMW) tasks in two conditions: once sitting in the same room (SR) and once in two different rooms...
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
September 21, 2021
Susanna Feruglio, Alessio Matiz, G. Pagnoni et al.
Through the practice of Mindfulness Meditation (MM), meditators become familiar with the observation of ongoing spontaneous thoughts, while maintaining an attitude of openness and equanimity. The aim of this systematic review is to present a synthesis of available findings of the short and long-term effects of MM on mind wandering (MW). We included studies that considered both first-person and...
Psychology and Health
October 23, 2020
Susanna Feruglio, Alessio Matiz, Alessandro Grecucci et al.
Abstract Objective Preliminary findings suggest that different kinds of meditation could work on diverse cognitive and psychological processes. The present study aimed at disentangling the effects of three mindfulness techniques on mental rumination and subjective time perspective. Design: 75 young healthy participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: mindful breathing, body...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
September 22, 2020
Ornella Santonastaso, Vittoria Zaccari, Cristiano Crescentini et al.
43 citations
Mindfulness-oriented meditation (MOM) is a self-regulatory training used for attentional and behavioral problems. With its focus on attention, MOM is a promising form of training that is gaining empirical support as a complementary or alternative intervention for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we tested the preliminary efficacy of MOM training in children with...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
September 1, 2020
Alessio Matiz, Franco Fabbro, Andrea Paschetto et al.
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent public health measures were shown to impact negatively on people’s mental health. In particular, women were reported to be at higher risk than men of developing symptoms of stress/anxiety/depression, and resilience was considered a key factor for positive mental health outcomes. In the present study, a sample of Italian female teachers (n = 66, age: 51.5 ±...
Brain and Cognition
February 1, 2016
Barbara Tomasino, Franco Fabbro
Mindfulness meditation is a form of attention control training. The training exercises the ability to repeatedly focus attention. We addressed the activation changes related to an 8-weeks mindfulness-oriented focused attention meditation training on an initially naïve subject cohort. Before and after training participants underwent an fMRI experiment, thus, although not strictly a cross over...
Frontiers in Psychology
2014
Viviana Capurso, Franco Fabbro, Cristiano Crescentini
115 citations
GENERAL COMMENTARY article Front. Psychol., 10 January 2014Sec. Cognition Volume 4 - 2013 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01020
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
2013
Barbara Tomasino, Sara Fregona, Miran Skrap et al.
151 citations
The brain network governing meditation has been studied using a variety of meditation practices and techniques practices eliciting different cognitive processes (e.g., silence, attention to own body, sense of joy, mantras, etc.). It is very possible that different practices of meditation are subserved by largely, if not entirely, disparate brain networks. This assumption was tested by...
Neuron
February 1, 2010
Cosimo Urgesi, Salvatore M. Aglioti, Miran Skrap et al.
220 citations
The predisposition of human beings toward spiritual feeling, thinking, and behaviors is measured by a supposedly stable personality trait called self-transcendence. Although a few neuroimaging studies suggest that neural activation of a large fronto-parieto-temporal network may underpin a variety of spiritual experiences, information on the causative link between such a network and spirituality...