Enhanced tactile acuity through mental states.
Sebastian T Philipp, Tobias Kalisch, Thomas Wachtler, Hubert R Dinse
Scientific Reports August 27, 2015 DOI: 10.1038/srep13549 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Zen meditation exercise |
| Duration | Three-day intervention |
| Key findings | Six hours of mental-sensory focusing on the right index finger during Zen meditation persistently improved tactile spatial discrimination of that finger. |
Abstract
Bodily training typically evokes behavioral and perceptual gains, enforcing neuroplastic processes and affecting neural representations. We investigated the effect on somatosensory perception of a three-day Zen meditation exercise, a purely mental intervention. Tactile spatial discrimination of the right index finger was persistently improved by only 6 hours of mental-sensory focusing on this finger, suggesting that intrinsic brain activity created by mental states can alter perception and behavior similarly to external stimulation.