Brain Sciences
November 29, 2023
Yakun Zhang, Shichun Chen, Zongpai Zhang et al.
1 citation
Focused attention meditation (FAM) training has been shown to improve attention, but the neural basis of FAM on attention has not been thoroughly understood. Here, we aim to investigate the neural effect of a 2-month FAM training on novice meditators in a visual oddball task (a frequently adopted task to evaluate attention), evaluated with both ASL and BOLD fMRI. Using ASL, activation was...
NeuroImage: Clinical
2022
Norman A. S. Farb, Philip A. Desormeau, Adam K. Anderson et al.
15 citations
BACKGROUND: Neural reactivity to dysphoric mood induction indexes the tendency for distress to promote cognitive reactivity and sensory avoidance. Linking these responses to illness prognosis following recovery from Major Depressive Disorder informs our understanding of depression vulnerability and provides engagement targets for prophylactic interventions. METHODS: A prospective fMRI...
Brain Sciences
September 24, 2021
Zongpai Zhang, Wen-Ming Luh, Wenna Duan et al.
We aimed to assess whether dynamic arterial spin labeling (dASL), a novel quantitative MRI technique with minimal contamination of subject motion and physiological noises, could detect the longitudinal effect of focused attention meditation (FAM) on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). A total of 10 novice meditators who recorded their FAM practice time were scanned at baseline and at...
Scientific Reports
May 31, 2021
Zongpai Zhang, Wen-Ming Luh, Wenna Duan et al.
Changes in brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were investigated using a longitudinal design by following a 2-month focused attention meditation (FAM) practice and analyzing their association with FAM practice time. Ten novice meditators were recruited from a university meditation course. Participants were scanned with a resting-state fMRI sequence with multi-echo EPI acquisition...
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
2020
Hadeel Haj-Ali, Adam K. Anderson, Assaf Kron
The bipolar valence-arousal model is assumed by many to be an underlying structure of conscious experience of core affect and emotion. In this work, we compare three versions of the bipolar valence-arousal model at the neural domain, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Specifically, we systematically contrast three models of arousal: model 1-'arousal as a separate quale from...
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
February 2018
Norman A. S. Farb, Adam K. Anderson, Arun Ravindran et al.
Both Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Cognitive Therapy (CT) enhance self-management of prodromal symptoms associated with depressive relapse, albeit through divergent therapeutic procedures. We evaluated rates of relapse in remitted depressed patients receiving MBCT and CT. Decentering and dysfunctional attitudes were assessed as treatment-specific process markers. Participants...
Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior
November 2014
Nir Lipsman, Takashi Nakao, Noriaki Kanayama et al.
High activity of the default mode network (DMN) has been proposed to be central in processing self-relevant events. Thus far, this hypothesis of DMN function has not been tested directly using neurophysiological techniques. To test for the link between frontal midline DMN activity and self-relevant processing we measured neuronal activity (single-neurons' firing rates) in human subcallosal...
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
June 11, 2012
Norman A. S. Farb, Zindel V. Segal, Adam K. Anderson
566 citations
One component of mindfulness training (MT) is the development of interoceptive attention (IA) to visceral bodily sensations, facilitated through daily practices such as breath monitoring. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined experience-dependent functional plasticity in accessing interoceptive representations by comparing graduates of a Mindfulness-Based Stress...
The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
February 1, 2012
Norman A. S. Farb, Adam K. Anderson, Zindel V. Segal
361 citations
Mindfulness involves nonjudgmental attention to present-moment experience. In its therapeutic forms, mindfulness interventions promote increased tolerance of negative affect and improved well-being. However, the neural mechanisms underlying mindful mood regulation are poorly understood. Mindfulness training appears to enhance focused attention, supported by the anterior cingulate cortex and the...
Emotion
February 1, 2010
Norman A. S. Farb, Adam K. Anderson, Helen S. Mayberg et al.
523 citations
Recovery from emotional challenge and increased tolerance of negative affect are both hallmarks of mental health. Mindfulness training (MT) has been shown to facilitate these outcomes, yet little is known about its mechanisms of action. The present study employed functional MRI (fMRI) to compare neural reactivity to sadness provocation in participants completing 8 weeks of MT and waitlisted...
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
August 13, 2007
Norman A. S. Farb, Zindel V. Segal, Helen S. Mayberg et al.
1,305 citations
It has long been theorised that there are two temporally distinct forms of self-reference: extended self-reference linking experiences across time, and momentary self-reference centred on the present. To characterise these two aspects of awareness, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine monitoring of enduring traits ('narrative' focus, NF) or momentary experience...