Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
December 3, 2007
Britta K. Hölzel, Ulrich Ott, Tim Gard et al.
544 citations
Long-term mindfulness meditators show greater gray matter concentration in brain regions linked to interoceptive awareness and meditation, including the right anterior insula, left inferior temporal gyrus, and right hippocampus. In a comparison of 20 Vipassana meditators (averaging 8.6 years of practice, 2 hours daily) with matched non-meditators, the amount of meditation training predicted gray matter concentration in the left inferior temporal gyrus, suggesting a causal impact of practice. The findings indicate that meditation practice is associated with structural brain differences in areas typically activated during meditation and relevant to the task.
Psychological Bulletin
January 1, 2005
Dieter Vaitl, Niels Birbaumer, John Gruzelier et al.
446 citations
Altered states of consciousness (ASC) can occur spontaneously, be evoked by physical or physiological stimulation, induced by psychological means, or caused by diseases. Psychological and neurobiological approaches reveal four dimensions characterizing ASC: activation, awareness span, self-awareness, and sensory dynamics. Neurophysiologically, different states of consciousness arise from compromised brain structure, transient changes in brain dynamics (disconnectivity), and neurochemical and metabolic processes. Environmental stimuli, mental practices, and self-control techniques can also temporarily alter brain functioning and conscious experience.
NeuroImage Clinical
January 1, 2013
Britta K. Hölzel, Elizabeth A Hoge, Douglas N. Greve et al.
285 citations
Mindfulness training alters brain activity in regions involved in emotion regulation among people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). In a preliminary study, 26 GAD patients were randomly assigned to either an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program or a stress management education control. At baseline, GAD patients showed higher amygdala activation than healthy participants when viewing neutral faces, indicating heightened reactivity to ambiguous stimuli. After both interventions, amygdala activation to neutral faces decreased. MBSR, but not the control, led to greater increases in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) activity and strengthened amygdala-prefrontal functional connectivity. These brain changes correlated with reductions in anxiety scores, suggesting clinical relevance. The shift from negative to positive amygdala-prefrontal coupling may represent a unique mechanism of mindfulness.
Cerebral Cortex
December 15, 2011
Tim Gard, Britta K. Hölzel, Alexander T. Sack et al.
275 citations
Pain can be modulated by mindfulness, but the underlying brain mechanisms differ from those of other cognitive techniques. Mindfulness practitioners reduced pain unpleasantness by 22% and anticipatory anxiety by 29% during a mindful state, while controls did not. In the brain, this reduction was associated with decreased activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex and increased activation in the right posterior insula during stimulation, and increased rostral anterior cingulate cortex activation during pain anticipation. These findings indicate a unique mechanism of pain modulation involving increased sensory processing and decreased cognitive control, contrasting with established mechanisms.
American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics
June 17, 2005
Ulrich Ott, Martin Reuter, Juergen Hennig et al.
96 citations
The personality trait Absorption—a disposition for altered states of consciousness involving focused attention, vivid imagery, and mystical experiences—is linked to a specific genetic variation. People with the T/T genotype of the T102C polymorphism in the 5-HT2a receptor gene, which produces stronger receptor binding, scored significantly higher on the Tellegen Absorption Scale. No independent effect was found for the COMT gene variation, but an interaction between the two genes was significant, highlighting the interplay between serotonin and dopamine systems. These results suggest a biological basis for Absorption.
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice
August 1, 2013
Dieter Vaitl, Niels Birbaumer, John Gruzelier et al.
43 citations
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Neuroscience Letters
June 21, 2007
Britta K. Hölzel, Ulrich Ott, Hannes Hempel et al.
During mindfulness of breathing, experienced Vipassana meditators show stronger brain activation in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex compared to non-meditators. The rostral anterior cingulate cortex activation may reflect enhanced processing of distracting events, while medial prefrontal cortex activation suggests stronger engagement in emotional processing. Fifteen meditators with an average of 7.9 years of daily two-hour practice and fifteen matched non-meditators participated in an fMRI study comparing meditation to mental arithmetic.