Preliminary evidence about the effects of meditation on interoceptive sensitivity and social cognition
Behavioral and Brain Functions
Short Title:
Behavioral and Brain Functions
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
2013/12/23/
Pages:
47
Sources ID:
39371
Collection:
Theory of Mind
Visibility:
Public (group default)
Abstract:
(Show)
Interoception refers to the conscious perception of body signals. Mindfulness is a meditation practice that encourages individuals to focus on their internal experiences such as bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions. In this study, we selected a behavioral measure of interoceptive sensitivity (heartbeat detection task, HBD) to compare the effect of meditation practice on interoceptive sensitivity among long term practitioners (LTP), short term meditators (STM, subjects that completed a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program) and controls (non-meditators). All participants were examined with a battery of different tasks including mood state, executive function and social cognition tests (emotion recognition, empathy and theory of mind).