Research suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may improve psychological wellbeing. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of these interventions are unclear. The present investigation examined the relationship between self-control and mindfulness meditation practice. Self-control, which is positively correlated with wellbeing, is considered a resource that can be depleted: after completing one self-control task, poorer performance typically …
Continue reading “Exploring the effects of mindfulness meditation on self-control failure”
The present study assesses the effects on brain processing of a well-characterized self-referential paradigm involving the brain response to hearing self vs. other names in advanced practitioners from meditative traditions towards the ends of the two poles on the meditative spectrum. The assessed practitioners will be from the Himalayan Yoga tradition utilizing focused attention techniques …
Continue reading “Focused attention versus open monitoring meditation and self-referential brain processing”
The interpersonal processes of learning mindfulness were explored by analyzing the transcripts of the teacher-student interactions in the Dialogue and Inquiry periods of the MBSR course, informed by video-assisted process recall interviews of teacher and students. The purpose of the study was to describe and understand the process of learning and teaching mindfulness as a …
Continue reading “Relational processes in learning mindfulness: An action-theoretical perspective”
Scientific investigations of human thought usually equate it with only the deliberate, goal-directed mental processes that occur during problem solving and reasoning, while spontaneous thought processes that occur without individuals’ volition or direct control have largely been neglected. Given that spontaneous thought takes up as much as one-third of people’s waking lives, this other side …
Continue reading “Investigating the neural basis of spontaneous thought with real-time fMRI and contemplative mental training”
Emotional reactivity, the negative response to stress, is a rare predictor of relapse risk following recovery from MDD. ‘Trait’ mindfulness, the tendency to non-judgmentally engage with experience, has been linked to lower levels of emotional reactivity in a community sample, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) has shown initial promise in reducing the risk of depressive …
Continue reading “How mindfulness impacts selective attention during emotional challenge”
This study aimed to understand the structure of paying attention to better train mental health clinicians in their client sessions. The study focused on expert meditators who are also psychotherapists because meditators are specifically trained to pay attention to their experience. This study provided rich descriptions of the meditators’ experience using a specific interview method. …
Continue reading “Attending to clinical social work practice: Mindful attention as holistic competence background and relevant literature”
By refining awareness of present-moment experiences, mindfulness purportedly increases physiological awareness. However, existing evidence of this is limited and inconclusive. One key population whose health is known to improve with awareness of certain physiological information is diabetics. Greater awareness of blood glucose levels can help diabetes patients to manage the disease. Thus, if mindfulness improves …
Continue reading “The effect of mindfulness on physiological awareness: Blood glucose estimates and disease management in type 2 diabetics”
Studies assessing the relationship between self-focus and emotion processing are sparse. Evaluative self-focus may lead to attenuated affective response (Silvia et al, 2000), and is likely to be underpinned by dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation (DMPFC). This is in contrast to non-judgmental, non-evaluative, present moment awareness which is the goal of Mindfulness, and likely to be …
Continue reading “The impact of evaluative vs. experiential self-focus on emotional response”
This pilot project evaluates the neuropeptide oxytocin as a potentially useful biological indicator of changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and well-being in two different randomized clinical studies investigating the effects of mind-body interventions in post-treatment cancer survivors. One study, targeting sleep disturbance, compares 3 sessions (one per week) of Mind-Body Bridging and Mindfulness …
Continue reading “Effects of mind-body interventions in cancer supportive care: Oxytocin as a biological correlate of wellbeing and connectedness”
Providing care for a frail older adult is a stressful experience that may affect psychological and physical health of caregivers. When caregivers are elderly and the care recipient suffers from a neurocognitive disorder such as dementia, the burden and resulting stress is greatly increased. Many interventions involving support groups, counseling, and education have been implemented …
Continue reading “The effectiveness of MBSR as an intervention among elderly family caregivers of persons with neurocognitive disorders”
