As adolescents struggle with the multitude of physiological and socioemotional changes taking place during this developmental period, the goal of this study was to implement a mindfulness program for teens and measure both self-report assessments of emotional well-being (perceived stress, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect) and physiological responses to a laboratory social stressor (heart …
Grant Type Archives:
The varieties of contemplative experience
Meditation practices and interventions, derived from contemplative religious traditions, have become increasingly popular in clinical, educational and scientific research contexts. Meditation is being applied to the treatment of a wide range of psychiatric conditions, from depression to psychosis, and implemented in schools, businesses and prisons to promote performance and wellbeing and decrease stress and anxiety. …
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The neural basis of enhanced introspective accuracy in long-term meditation practitioners
The accuracy of subjective reports, especially those involving introspection of one’s own internal processes, remains unclear. ‘Introspective accuracy’ (IA) can putatively be quantified by a variety of methods that combine introspective reports of subjective, mental phenomena with some objective (neural, physiological, or behavioral) measure of these same phenomena. A subject’s IA with respect to a …
Effects of yogic breathing on sleep and well-being in college students: Exploration of psychophysiological mechanisms
Insomnia is a prevalent health concern in older adults with numerous adverse consequences. Prior research suggests that the sleep disturbance and related complaints are driven by physiological hyperarousal and deficiencies in the autonomic nervous system, particularly parasympathetic activity, that inhibit healthy sleep-wake regulation. Pharmacological treatments are not viable long-term, and current behavioral and contemplative interventions …
Compassion cultivation for physicians-in-training
My Varela award supported a pilot study based on two case studies of medical students in a Compassion Cultivation Training elective course at Stanford University School of Medicine. Current literature shows that burnout in physicians is prevalent, and is associated with poor health outcomes for both physicians and patients. Burnout is associated with lower levels …
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The effect of MBSR on episodic and prospective memory function in aging adults
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a state of cognitive decline between typical aging and dementia characterized by impaired memory function, particularly for episodic memory—the capacity to mentally relive past experiences—and prospective memory—the ability to recollect future intentions. People diagnosed with MCI are 20-50% more likely to develop dementia over a period of 2 to 3 …
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A longitudinal training study to delineate the specific causal effects of open monitoring versus focused attention techniques on emotional regulation skills
Difficulties with emotion regulation could be a core mechanism of mood and anxiety disorders. Various meditation-based interventions are found to ameliorate a wide range of psychological problems however, it is crucial to understand how different types of meditation improve emotional abilities to develop structured treatment and preventative protocols for emotional disorders. Based on a commonly …
Neural effects of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in remitted patients with chronic history of depression
Clinical evidence suggests that MBCT is an effective intervention to prevent relapse in major depression. The mechanisms underlying the positive effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on different forms of human suffering have been studied extensively in healthy populations. However, little has been done to extend this research to study the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying …
Making the right choice: Combining neuroimaging, computational modelling, and first-person report methodologies to unveil neural mechanisms of human flourishing
While the combined use of computational modelling and experimental techniques in neuroscience has been fruitful for studying decision-making, it has mostly focused on general principles of reward-based decision-making and has not been utilized to examine wider implications for human well-being. On the other hand, the emerging field of positive psychology has provided a framework for …
From intra- to inter-personal: Effects of MBSR on emotion regulation in social contexts
Contemplative teachings highlight the benefit of mindfulness practice to the practitioner and to those with whom they interact, yet very few studies on meditation to date have explored whether meditation training improves social interactions and relationships. Examining effects on emotion regulation in social contexts may be key to understanding meditation’s social consequences, for at least …
