Learning to attenuate myself: a predictive processing account of body-scan meditation and the dissolution of bodily boundaries.
Valeria Becattini, Michael Lifshitz, Mark Miller
Neuroscience of Consciousness February 19, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niag001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Body-scan technique |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attention Perception Self-regulation Well-being Predictive processing Interoception |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Proposes that the body-scan technique's dissolution of bodily boundaries arises because optimizing low-level predictions over somatosensory signals attenuates those signals, reducing perception of the body's boundaries. Argues this attenuation contributes to bhaṅga and suggests potential well-being benefits, with therapeutic integration possibly aiding conditions marked by disrupted self-regulation, such as addiction and emotional dysregulation. |
Abstract
Meditation practices often involve sustaining attention on the body. Typically, attention is understood to enhance both neural resource allocation and the subjective salience of the attended target. However, in deep meditative states, practitioners sometimes report a dissolution of bodily boundaries, a phenomenon known in Pali as bha[Formula: see text]ga. This presents a paradox: why does focused attention, which typically heightens sensory perception, instead lead to its dissolution? This article addresses this apparent contradiction by integrating computational, phenomenological, and empirical perspectives on attention, interoception, and meditation. We focus on the body-scan technique, as practiced in Theravada Buddhist traditions, and its powerful capacity to produce experiences of the dissolution of bodily boundaries. Working within the predictive processing framework, we propose that this "dissolution" of bodily boundaries results from the body-scan's impact on attentional processes. We argue that by optimizing low-level predictions over somatosensory signals, the body-scan effectively attenuates these signals, thereby diminishing perception of the body's boundaries. In support of this claim, we first describe the body-scan technique and its phenomenological outcomes. We then introduce key concepts from the predictive processing framework and provide a detailed analysis of attentional processes during the body-scan. We conclude that the attenuation of somatosensory signals during the body-scan not only contributes to the experience of bha[Formula: see text]ga but also suggests a broader potential of this practice for enhancing well-being. With appropriate therapeutic integration, this attentional modulation offers promising applications in addressing conditions characterized by disrupted self-regulation, such as addiction and emotional dysregulation.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 49
- Interoceptive inference, emotion, and the embodied self Trends in Cognitive Sciences October 12, 2013
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- An Interoceptive Predictive Coding Model of Conscious Presence Frontiers in Psychology 2012
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
and 44 more in the library