Rising from its contemplative and spiritual traditions, the science of meditation has seen huge growth over the last 30 years. This chapter reviews the classifications, phenomenology, neural correlates, and mechanisms of meditation. Meditation classification types are still varied and largely subjective. Broader models to describe meditation practice along multidimensional parameters may...
Background: Numerous world cultures believe channeling provides genuine information, and channeling rituals in various forms are regularly conducted in both religious and non-religious contexts. Little is known about the physiological correlates of the subjective experience of channeling. Methods: We conducted a prospective within-subject design study with 13 healthy adult trance channels....
The science of meditation has grown tremendously in the last two decades. Most studies have focused on evaluating the clinical effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions, neural and other physiological correlates of meditation, and individual cognitive and emotional aspects of meditation. Far less research has been conducted on more challenging domains to measure, such as group and...
Background: Older adults have fewer physiological reserves and are more likely to be affected by stress. Mindfulness meditation has the potential to be an effective treatment for depression, but little research has been conducted on older adults. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate depression symptom changes in older adults (55–80 years old) taking an Internet Mindfulness...
BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a time of high risk for excessive weight gain, leading to health-related consequences for mothers and offspring. Theory-based obesity interventions that target proposed mechanisms of biobehavioral change are needed, in addition to simply providing nutritional and weight gain directives. Mindfulness training is hypothesized to reduce stress and non-homeostatic eating...
Across cultures and throughout history, transcendent states achieved through meditative practices have been reported. The practices to attain transcendent states vary from transcendental meditation to yoga to contemplative prayer, to other various forms of sitting meditation. While these transcendent states are ascribed many different terms, those who experience them describe a similar unitive,...
Background: Dissociative states exist on a continuum from nonpathological forms, such as highway hypnosis and day-dreaming, to pathological states of derealization and depersonalization. Claims of communication with deceased individuals, known as mediumship, were once regarded as a pathological form of dissociation, but current definitions recognize the continuum and include distress and...
To determine if mindfulness meditation (MM) in older adults improves cognition and, secondarily, if MM improves mental health and physiology, 134 at least mildly stressed 50-85 year olds were randomized to a six-week MM intervention or a waitlist control. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and two months later at Visit 2. The primary outcome measure was an executive function/attentional...
This qualitative study explored and compared the subjective experiences of 102 veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 arms: ( a) body scan, ( b) mindful breathing, ( c) slow breathing, or ( d) sitting quietly. Qualitative data were obtained via semistructured interviews following the intervention and analyzed using conventional content analysis....
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious health concern. Current evidence-based treatments for PTSD are efficacious; however, they are not appropriate or tolerated by everyone who needs them. Alternative treatment approaches are needed. Shamanic healing is one such therapy that may potentially be beneficial but no systematic research has been conducted on it for PTSD. The objectives of...
Background: Mindfulness meditation interventions improve a variety of health conditions and quality of life, are inexpensive, easy to implement, have minimal if any side effects, and engage patients to take an active role in their treatment. However, the group format can be an obstacle for many to take structured meditation programs. Internet Mindfulness Meditation Intervention (IMMI) is a...
NeuroscienceApril 21, 2016R Atchley, D Klee, T Memmott et al.
This cross-sectional study evaluated event-related potentials (ERPs) across three groups: naïve, novice, and experienced meditators as potential physiological markers of mindfulness meditation competence. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were collected during a target tone detection task and a Breath Counting task. The Breath Counting task served as the mindfulness meditation condition for...
Objective This study’s objective was to evaluate the effect of two common components of meditation (mindfulness and slow breathing) on potential mechanistic pathways. Methods 102 combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were randomized to: 1) the body scan mindfulness meditation (MM), 2) slow breathing (SB) with a biofeedback device, 3) mindful awareness of the breath with an...
Background Older adults are at risk for greater chronic stress and cognitive decline. Mindfulness meditation training may help reduce stress and thus cognitive decline in older adults, but little research has explored this. Objective The primary aim was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an internet mindfulness meditation intervention and an internet health and wellness education...
OBJECTIVES: Group mindfulness meditation interventions have improved symptoms in many health conditions. However, many people are unwilling to receive group treatment, so alternative delivery methods such as individual and internet may be a useful option. The study objective was to examine mindfulness meditation intervention delivery format preferences and their relationship to potential...
People with severe speech and physical impairments may benefit from mindfulness meditation training because it has the potential to enhance their ability to cope with anxiety, depression and pain and improve their attentional capacity to use brain-computer interface systems. Seven adults with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI) - defined as speech that is understood less than 25% of...
BACKGROUND: This study investigates measures of mindfulness meditation (MM) as a mental practice, in which a resting but alert state of mind is maintained. A population of older people with high stress level participated in this study, while electroencephalographic (EEG) and respiration signals were recorded during a MM intervention. The physiological signals during meditation and control...
We created a standardized one-on-one mindfulness meditation intervention with six weekly 90-minute training sessions and home practice. The trainings included didactic instruction, discussion and guided meditations, and home-practice guided meditations and mindfulness exercises. Twenty-eight participants completed mindful awareness, nonjudgment, perceived stress, positive and negative affect,...
Mindfulness meditation (MM) is an inward mental practice, in which a resting but alert state of mind is maintained. MM intervention was performed for a population of older people with high stress levels. This study assessed signal processing methodologies of electroencephalographic (EEG) and respiration signals during meditation and control condition to aid in quantification of the meditative...
The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess group differences between veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mindful awareness and mindful non-judging. The relationships between mindfulness and PTSD symptom clusters were also evaluated. Three age and gender-matched groups, 1)15 combat veterans with PTSD, 2)15 combat veterans without PTSD, and 3) 15...
OBJECTIVES: Home practice is frequently prescribed as part of mind-body medicine interventions, although rarely objectively measured. This brief methods report describes one method for objectively measuring home practice adherence using a custom monitoring software program. DESIGN: Methods for objectively measuring adherence were developed as part of a randomized controlled trial on the...
Binaural beat technology (BBT) products are sold internationally as personal development and health improvement tools. Producers suggest benefit from regular listening to binaural beats including reduced stress and anxiety, and increased focus, concentration, motivation, confidence, and depth in meditation. Binaural beats are auditory brainstem responses that originate in the superior olivary...