March 1, 2020
Eamonn Eeles, Donna M. Pinsker, Hana Burianova et al.
Dreams and daydreams are as beguiling as they are intangible. Both share many features, from neurobiology to the sensed experience. Nevertheless, the specific narrative relationship between both, if any, remains uncertain. Theories of dream origins are many: from the psychodynamic royal road, to biological theories including Hebbian-based memory consolidation and a unified quantum brain theory...
Frontiers in Bioscience
March 1, 2020
Rui F. Afonso, Inessa Kraft, M. A. Aratanha et al.
Here, we review the neurophysiological and neuroimaging changes that mediation induces in structural and functional MRI. The available evidence from structural studies suggests that mediation impacts neuronal plasticity and the functional MRI suggest that there are changes in gray and white matter in subjects who meditate. FMRI studies show that meditation is associated with decreased activity...
Science Advances
March 1, 2020
Zirui Huang, Jun Zhang, Jinsong Wu et al.
Neuroimaging suggests that human consciousness relies on frequent access to default mode and dorsal attention brain networks. The ongoing stream of human consciousness relies on two distinct cortical systems, the default mode network and the dorsal attention network, which alternate their activity in an anticorrelated manner. We examined how the two systems are regulated in the conscious brain...
Advances in Psychological Science
January 6, 2020
Qi HE, Haiying Wang
4 citations
Regulation of attention is a commonality across the many divergent meditation methods, with attention being the main mechanism of meditation. Recent research has found that meditation can improve sustained attention, executive attention and selective attentional allocation. Cognitive neuroscientific research findings showed that meditation enabled more efficient use of attentional resources,...
Network Neuroscience
2020
Marzie Saghayi, Jonathan Greenberg, Christopher O'Grady et al.
Adherence determines the success and benefits of mental training (e.g., meditation) programs. It is unclear why some participants engage more actively in programs for mental training than others. Understanding neurobiological factors that predict adherence is necessary for understanding elements of learning and to inform better designs for new learning regimens. Clustering patterns in brain...
Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology
2020
Yang-Qian Shen, Hui Zhou, Xiao Chen et al.
Meditation is a type of mental training commonly applied in clinical settings and also practiced for general well-being. Brain functional connectivity (FC) patterns associated with meditation have revealed its brain mechanisms. However, the variety of FC methods applied has made it difficult to identify brain communication patterns associated with meditation. Here we carried out a...
Frontiers in Psychology
2020
Frederick Travis, Jonathan Nash, Niyazi Parim et al.
Early research into meditation, including Transcendental Meditation (TM), relied exclusively on EEG to measure brain activity during meditation practice. Since the advent of neural imaging, MRI, and later fMRI, have dominated this field. Unfortunately, the use of this technology rests on the questionable assumption that lying down in a confining tube while exposed to very loud sounds would not...
Journal of Near-Death Studies
2020
Marjorie Woollacott, Anne Shumway-Cook
Abstract: Despite their different etiologies, three types of spiritually transformative experiences (STEs)--near-death experiences, psilocybin experiences, and meditative experiences of cosmic consciousness--appear to have attributes that are common to a broad range of mystical experiences, including an experience of expanded awareness. In addition, all three appear to be associated with...
Frontiers in Psychology
2020
S Shaun Ho, Yoshio Nakamura, James E. Swain
15 citations
As interpersonal, racial, social, and international conflicts intensify in the world, it is important to safeguard the mental health of individuals affected by them. According to a Buddhist notion "if you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion," compassion practice is an intervention to cultivate conflict-proof well-being. Here, compassion...
Frontiers in Neurology
2020
Peter Fazekas, Georgina Nemeth
14 citations
Hobson's AIM theory offers a general framework for thinking about states of consciousness like wakefulness, REM dreaming and NREM mentations in terms of a state space defined by the dimensions of the level of brain activity, the source of input, and the type of neurochemical modulation. This account inspired theoretical models of other altered states of consciousness-including hypnosis-claiming...