Biological Psychology
July 9, 2026
Nattanon Bunrodchu, Ekkasit Kumarnsit, Wan Khairunizam Wan Ahmad et al.
Long-term cannabis use can result in the development of cannabis use disorder (CUD) and dependence via the endocannabinoid system pathway. A brain network that has been consistently linked to various stages of addiction and various substances is the default mode network (DMN). By comparing EEG features between cannabis users and healthy participants, this study sought to identify EEG-based...
Biological Psychology
June 3, 2026
Hongkeun Kim
Functional neuroimaging studies consistently show that episodic recollection engages the default mode network (DMN), yet the extent to which this engagement varies with the representational content of retrieved information remains unclear. The present meta-analysis examined whether recollection of verbal and visual materials differentially recruits the DMN. Twenty-four verbal and 19 visual...
Biological Psychology
2026
Xiaonan Zhan, Huibiao Li, Ke Chen et al.
Depression constitutes a major global public health burden, with university students exhibiting a disproportionately high prevalence of depressive symptoms. Although Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has demonstrated efficacy in alleviating depressive symptomatology, its underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain incompletely understood. This randomized controlled trial investigated...
Biological Psychology
October 1, 2025
Magdalena Kurek, Joanna Różycka‐Tran, Stanisław Radoń et al.
3 citations
This study investigated the bioelectric brain activity associated with Zen meditation in an ecologically valid monastic setting, comparing experienced Zen practitioners with non-meditating controls. The experimental group consisted of Vietnamese monks from Truc Lam Tay Thien and Truc Lam Thuong Chieu monasteries, while the control group comprised non-practitioners. EEG data were collected using...
Biological Psychology
September 1, 2025
Norden E Huang, Wei-Shuai Yuan, Albert C Yang et al.
Consciousness remains a multifaceted phenomenon that is difficult to be measured by traditional quantification methods. Here we propose the intrinsic probability density function (iPDF) as a quantitative method to evaluate the dynamic inter-cortical interactions that underlie conscious states. First, the method utilizes empirical mode decomposition to derive intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) from...
Biological Psychology
May 1, 2018
Ratna Jyothi Kakumanu, Ajay Kumar Nair, Rahul Venugopal et al.
Meditation, as taught by most schools of practice, consists of a set of heterogeneous techniques. We wanted to assess if EEG profiles varied across different meditation techniques, proficiency levels and experience of the practitioners. We examined EEG dynamics in Vipassana meditators (Novice, Senior meditators and Teachers) while they engaged in their traditional meditation practice...
Biological Psychology
September 1, 2016
J Lutz, Annette B Brühl, Hanne Scheerer et al.
Mindful self-awareness is central to mindfulness meditation and plays a key role in its salutary effects. It has been related to decreased activation in cortical midline structures (CMS) and amygdala, and increased activation in somatosensory regions. However, findings in untrained individuals are contradictory, and scarce in experienced meditators. Using fMRI, we investigated experienced...
Biological Psychology
December 1, 2013
Péter Simor, Klára Horváth, Péter P Ujma et al.
Although a growing body of research indicates that frequent nightmares are related to impaired sleep regulation, the pathophysiology of nightmare disorder is far from being fully understood. We examined the relative spectral power values for NREM and REM sleep separately in 19 individuals with nightmare disorder and 21 healthy controls, based on polysomnographic recordings of the second nights'...
Biological Psychology
March 20, 2012
Renate Reniers, Rhiannon Corcoran, Birgit Vӧllm et al.
168 citations
Automatic intuitions and deliberate reasoning, sourcing internal representations of our personal norms and values, contribute to our beliefs of what is right and wrong. We used fMRI to directly compare moral (M) and non-moral (NM) decision-making processes using scenarios requiring conscious deliberation, whereby the main character declared an intention to take a course of action. Furthermore,...
Biological Psychology
May 1, 2011
Sarah Laxhmi Chellappa, Sylvia Frey, Vera Knoblauch et al.
Dreaming pertains to both REM and NREM sleep. However, frequency and regional specific differences in EEG activity remains controversial. We investigated NREM and REM sleep EEG power density associated with and without dream recall in 17 young subjects during a 40-h multiple nap protocol under constant routine conditions. NREM sleep was associated with lower EEG power density for dream recall...
Biological Psychology
November 1, 2000
F Travis, J J Tecce, J Guttman
This study investigated effects of transcendent experiences on contingent negative variation (CNV) amplitude, CNV rebound, and distraction effects. Three groups of age-matched subjects with few (<1 per year), more frequent (10-20 per year), or daily self-reported transcendent experiences received 31 simple RT trials (flash (S(1))/tone (S(2))/button press) followed by 31 divided-attention trials...
Biological Psychology
May 1, 2000
G. Tooley, S. Armstrong, Trevor R. Norman et al.
To determine whether a period of meditation could influence melatonin levels, two groups of meditators were tested in a repeated measures design for changes in plasma melatonin levels at midnight. Experienced meditators practising either TM-Sidhi or another internationally well known form of yoga showed significantly higher plasma melatonin levels in the period immediately following meditation...
Biological Psychology
June 1, 1984
Peter Fenwick, Morton Schatzman, Alan Worsley et al.
56 citations
During lucid dreaming, a subject willed movements of his fingers, toes and feet, remembered tasks, and counted sensory stimuli. Dreamed speech was related to respiration. EMG activity corresponding to dreamed actions was greater in flexor than in extensor limb muscles and was never present in axial muscles.