The MIT Press eBooks
December 16, 2025
Ulrich Ott
elucidate the brain dynamics of non-ordinary experiences like "non-duality" and "egodissolution" by combining phenomenological assessment with modern brain imaging technology.In this chapter, I describe (1) typical features of mystical experiences (see glossary);(2) situations, personality traits, and methods that facilitate their occurrence; and (3) recent findings regarding their pos si ble...
OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
September 18, 2021
Janika Epe, Rudolf Stark, Ulrich Ott
25 citations
Yogic breathing techniques are fundamental to the physical and mental practice of yoga. They are closely connected to meditation, which involves the observation of breath. There are many yogic techniques based on the active regulation of the breath. Breathing practices influence many processes in the body, e.g. heart rate variability, and the mind, e.g. relaxation and stress, through their...
Mindfulness
November 30, 2020
Karin Matko, Ulrich Ott, Peter Sedlmeier
Meditation is an umbrella term for a vast range of contemplative practices. Former proposals have struggled to do justice to this variety. To our knowledge, there is to date no comprehensive overview of meditation techniques spanning all major traditions. The present studies aimed at providing such a comprehensive list of meditation techniques. In a qualitative study, we compiled a collection...
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
November 27, 2018
Marcel Prestel, Paul Steinfath, Michael Tremmel et al.
24 citations
Goal: We aimed to identify electroencephalographic (EEG) signal fluctuations within independent components (ICs) that correlate to spontaneous blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) activity in regions of the default mode network (DMN) during eyes-closed resting state. Methods: We analyzed simultaneously acquired EEG and fMRI eyes-closed resting state data in a convenience sample of 30...
PLoS One
September 13, 2018
Terje Sparby, Ulrich Ott
11 citations
Research on meditation is advancing, but few studies about the motivations of meditators exist. Additionally, many forms and traditions of meditation have yet to be investigated. This study addresses both of these issues by presenting an overview of different forms of motivations found in contemporary Anthroposophic meditation practice. 30 Anthroposophic meditators were interviewed about their...
Human Brain Mapping
January 13, 2018
Mona Irrmischer, Simon J. Houtman, H. Mansvelder et al.
Our focus of attention naturally fluctuates between different sources of information even when we desire to focus on a single object. Focused attention (FA) meditation is associated with greater control over this process, yet the neuronal mechanisms underlying this ability are not entirely understood. Here, we hypothesize that the capacity of attention to transiently focus and swiftly change...
Paragrana
November 1, 2013
Ulrich Ott
Die neurowissenschaftliche Forschung beschäftigt sich in den letzten Jahren verstärkt mit Methoden der Achtsamkeitsmeditation, die in zahlreiche klinische Behandlungsprogramme integriert wurden. Nach einer kurzen Vorstellung der Magnetresonanztomographie und der Programme mit der weitesten Verbreitung (Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction und Mindfulness- based Cognitive Therapy) werden vier...
Theology and Science
August 1, 2013
Wolfgang Achtner, Ulrich Ott
AbstractProtestantism has always been suspicious about a mystical encounter with the Divine. Although the early Luther was influenced by mystical writers like Johannes Tauler the subsequent dogmatic evaluation of mystical forms of religiosity remained ambiguous. Nevertheless the real nature of mystical experience is still unclear and therefore the dogmatic judgments about mystical encounters...
Cerebral Cortex
December 15, 2011
Tim Gard, Britta K. Hölzel, Alexander T. Sack et al.
275 citations
Pain can be modulated by several cognitive techniques, typically involving increased cognitive control and decreased sensory processing. Recently, it has been demonstrated that pain can also be attenuated by mindfulness. Here, we investigate the underlying brain mechanisms by which the state of mindfulness reduces pain. Mindfulness practitioners and controls received unpleasant electric stimuli...
Perspectives on Psychological Science
October 14, 2011
Britta K. Hölzel, Sara W. Lazar, Tim Gard et al.
2,997 citations
Cultivation of mindfulness, the nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment, produces beneficial effects on well-being and ameliorates psychiatric and stress-related symptoms. Mindfulness meditation has therefore increasingly been incorporated into psychotherapeutic interventions. Although the number of publications in the field has sharply increased over the last two decades,...
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
December 3, 2007
Britta K. Hölzel, Ulrich Ott, Tim Gard et al.
544 citations
Mindfulness meditators practice the non-judgmental observation of the ongoing stream of internal experiences as they arise. Using voxel-based morphometry, this study investigated MRI brain images of 20 mindfulness (Vipassana) meditators (mean practice 8.6 years; 2 h daily) and compared the regional gray matter concentration to that of non-meditators matched for sex, age, education and...
Neuroscience Letters
June 21, 2007
Britta K. Hölzel, Ulrich Ott, Hannes Hempel et al.
This study investigated differences in brain activation during meditation between meditators and non-meditators. Fifteen Vipassana meditators (mean practice: 7.9 years, 2h daily) and fifteen non-meditators, matched for sex, age, education, and handedness, participated in a block-design fMRI study that included mindfulness of breathing and mental arithmetic conditions. For the meditation...
American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B Neuropsychiatric Genetics
June 17, 2005
Ulrich Ott, Martin Reuter, Juergen Hennig et al.
96 citations
Absorption represents a disposition to experience altered states of consciousness characterized by intensively focused attention. It is correlated with hypnotic susceptibility and includes phenomena ranging from vivid perceptions and imaginations to mystical experiences. Based on the assumption that drug-induced and naturally occurring mystical experiences share common neural mechanisms, we...
Psychological Bulletin
2005
Dieter Vaitl, Niels Birbaumer, John Gruzelier et al.
446 citations
The article reviews the current knowledge regarding altered states of consciousness (ASC) (a) occurring spontaneously, (b) evoked by physical and physiological stimulation, (c) induced by psychological means, and (d) caused by diseases. The emphasis is laid on psychological and neurobiological approaches. The phenomenological analysis of the multiple ASC resulted in 4 dimensions by which they...