<p>Forty-four right-handed participants were assessed on 2 occasions 6 weeks apart on electrophysiological measures of activation asymmetry derived from spectral estimates of electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha power in homologous scalp electrodes. Approximately 4 months following the final EEG assessment. participants were administered a dichotic listening CV-syllables task. Overall, participants exhibited a highly significant right-ear advantage. Differences among individuals in ear asymmetry were predicted by the earlier recorded electrophysiological data. Participants with greater activation in left-sided posterior temporal and parietal regions showed a larger right-ear advantage. In addition, a larger right-ear advantage was predicted by right-sided prefrontal activation. These data indicate that some of the variance in dichotic listening performance can be explained by dispositional activation asymmetries and is associated with a complex pattern of posterior and anterior activation asymmetries.</p>
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Thirty-two participants were tested for both resting electroencephalography (EEG) and neuropsychological function. Eight one-minute trials of resting EEG were recorded from 14 channels referenced to linked ears, which was rederived to an average reference. Neuropsychological tasks included Verbal Fluency, the Tower of London, and Corsi's Recurring Blocks. Asymmetries in EEG alpha activity were correlated with performance on these tasks. Similar patterns were obtained for delta and theta bands. Factor analyses of resting EEG asymmetries over particular regions suggested that asymmetries over anterior scalp regions may be partly independent from those over posterior scalp regions. These results support the notions that resting EEG asymmetries are specified by multiple mechanisms along the rostral/caudal plane, and that these asymmetries predict task performance in a manner consistent with lesion and neuroimaging studies.
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Researchers focused on patient-centered medicine are increasingly trying to identify baseline factors that predict treatment success. Because the quantity and function of lymphocyte subsets change during stress, we hypothesized that these subsets would serve as stress markers and therefore predict which breast cancer patients would benefit most from mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)-facilitated stress relief. The purpose of this study was to assess whether baseline biomarker levels predicted symptom improvement following an MBSR intervention for breast cancer survivors (MBSR[BC]). This randomized controlled trial involved 41 patients assigned to either an MBSR(BC) intervention group or a no-treatment control group. Biomarkers were assessed at baseline, and symptom change was assessed 6 weeks later. Biomarkers included common lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood as well as the ability of T cells to become activated and secrete cytokines in response to stimulation with mitogens. Spearman correlations were used to identify univariate relationships between baseline biomarkers and 6-week improvement of symptoms. Next, backward elimination regression models were used to identify the strongest predictors from the univariate analyses. Multiple baseline biomarkers were significantly positively related to 6-week symptom improvement. The regression models identified B-lymphocytes and interferon-γ as the strongest predictors of gastrointestinal improvement (p < .01), +CD4+CD8 as the strongest predictor of cognitive/psychological (CP) improvement (p = .02), and lymphocytes and interleukin (IL)-4 as the strongest predictors of fatigue improvement (p < .01). These results provide preliminary evidence of the potential to use baseline biomarkers as predictors to identify the patients likely to benefit from this intervention.
Humans have a strong tendency to affiliate with other people, especially in emotional situations. Here, we suggest that a critical mechanism underlying this tendency is that socially sharing emotional experiences is in itself perceived as hedonically positive and thereby contributes to the regulation of individual emotions. We investigated the effect of social sharing of emotions on subjective feelings and neural activity by having pairs of friends view emotional (negative and positive) and neutral pictures either alone or with the friend. While the two friends remained physically separated throughout the experiment—with one undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and the other performing the task in an adjacent room—they were made aware on a trial-by-trial basis whether they were seeing pictures simultaneously with their friend (shared) or alone (unshared). Ratings of subjective feelings were improved significantly when participants viewed emotional pictures together than alone, an effect that was accompanied by activity increase in ventral striatum and medial orbitofrontal cortex, two important components of the reward circuitry. Because these effects occurred without any communication or interaction between the friends, they point to an important proximate explanation for the basic human motivation to affiliate with others, particularly in emotional situations.
<p>Drawing its main source of inspiration from a naturalized interpretation of Husserlian phenomenology, On Becoming Aware: A Pragmatics of Experiencing attempts to examine closely the nature of experience and how we may become aware of our own mental life. The authors also focus on how this project fits into the larger context of cognitive science, psychology, neurosciences, and philosophy. Additional partners in the effort to better understand experience are the contemplative systems of the world's spiritual or wisdom traditions, including particularly that of Buddhism. The book includes three separate glossaries of technical terms in phenomenology, the cognitive sciences, and Tibetan Buddhism. The book On Becoming Aware seeks a disciplined and practical approach to exploring human experience. While much of the book draws its inspiration from the phenomenological theories of Husserl, other approaches to the direct study of experience are also explored in depth. One of these approaches is embodied by the world's spiritual or wisdom or contemplative traditions such as Sufism, Buddhism, the Philokalia tradition, and others. Collectively, these traditions have come upon a variety of their own insights and methods for understanding experience, or, to use words from the phenomenological tradition, has developed its own ways of phenomenological reduction Amongst the various wisdom traditions, the authors focus mainly on Buddhism. The authors give an introduction to Buddhist theory and history, followed by an in-depth discussion of the Buddhist contemplative practices of mindfulness, śamatha, vipaśyanā, tonglen (gtong len), lojong (blo sbyong), dzokchen (rdzogs chen), and mahāmudrā. The authors then relate this discussion to themes from philosophy and phenomenology explored earlier in the book, paricularly Husserl's concept of épochè. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-17) Publisher's description: This book searches for the sources and means for a disciplined practical approach to exploring human experience. The spirit of this book is pragmatic and relies on a Husserlian phenomenology primarily understood as a method of exploring our experience. The authors do not aim at a neo-Kantian a priori ‘new theory’ of experience but instead they describe a concrete activity: how we examine what we live through, how we become aware of our own mental life. The range of experiences of which we can become aware is vast: all the normal dimensions of human life (perception, motion, memory, imagination, speech, everyday social interactions), cognitive events that can be precisely defined as tasks in laboratory experiments (e.g., a protocol for visual attention), but also manifestations of mental life more fraught with meaning (dreaming, intense emotions, social tensions, altered states of consciousness). The central assertion in this work is that this immanent ability is habitually ignored or at best practiced unsystematically, that is to say, blindly. Exploring human experience amounts to developing and cultivating this basic ability through specific training. Only a hands-on, non-dogmatic approach can lead to progress, and that is what animates this book.</p>
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- Contexts of Contemplation Project,
- Buddhist Contemplation by Applied Subject,
- Contemplation by Applied Subject,
- Contemplation by Tradition,
- Philosophy and Contemplation,
- Philosophy and Buddhist Contemplation,
- Psychology and Buddhist Contemplation,
- Science and Buddhist Contemplation,
- Psychology and Contemplation,
- Science and Contemplation,
- Buddhist Contemplation
<p>Drawing its main source of inspiration from a naturalized interpretation of Husserlian phenomenology, <em>On Becoming Aware: A Pragmatics of Experiencing</em> attempts to examine closely the nature of experience and how we may become aware of our own mental life. The authors also focus on how this project fits into the larger context of cognitive science, psychology, neurosciences, and philosophy. Additional partners in the effort to better understand experience are the contemplative systems of the world's spiritual or wisdom traditions, including particularly that of Buddhism.</p>
<p>Book includes three separate glossaries of technical terms in phenomenology, the cognitive sciences, and Tibetan Buddhism. (Zach Rowinski 2005-01-17)</p>
Illustrations and rhyming text tell of Bentley, a bee from a busy, crowded, and noisy hive who teaches others to meditate in order to handle stress. Includes note for parents
Background
Early life stress (ELS) can compromise development, with higher amounts of adversity linked to behavioral problems. To understand this linkage, a growing body of research has examined two brain regions involved with socioemotional functioning—amygdala and hippocampus. Yet empirical studies have reported increases, decreases, and no differences within human and nonhuman animal samples exposed to different forms of ELS. This divergence in findings may stem from methodological factors, nonlinear effects of ELS, or both.
Methods
We completed rigorous hand-tracing of the amygdala and hippocampus in three samples of children who experienced different forms of ELS (i.e., physical abuse, early neglect, or low socioeconomic status). Interviews were also conducted with children and their parents or guardians to collect data about cumulative life stress. The same data were also collected in a fourth sample of comparison children who had not experienced any of these forms of ELS.
Results
Smaller amygdala volumes were found for children exposed to these different forms of ELS. Smaller hippocampal volumes were also noted for children who were physically abused or from low socioeconomic status households. Smaller amygdala and hippocampal volumes were also associated with greater cumulative stress exposure and behavioral problems. Hippocampal volumes partially mediated the relationship between ELS and greater behavioral problems.
Conclusions
This study suggests ELS may shape the development of brain areas involved with emotion processing and regulation in similar ways. Differences in the amygdala and hippocampus may be a shared diathesis for later negative outcomes related to ELS.
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Each day for two weeks, participants (psychologically healthy adults residing in the community) described the events that happened to them. These descriptions included how attentive to the present moment they were during the event, and how stressful, positive, and important the event was. Three-level MLM analyses (events nested within days, days nested within persons) found that dispositional (trait) mindfulness was positively related to event-level mindfulness (presence), positivity, and importance, and was negatively related to event-level stress. At the event-level, presence was positively related to how positive and important events were and was positively related to how stressful events were. Moreover, these event-level relationships did not vary as a function of trait mindfulness. These results suggest that although more mindful people may experience less stress, when stress occurs, people tend to become more mindful.
<p>Developmentally sensitive efforts to help students learn, practice, and regularly use mindfulness tactics easily and readily in and beyond the classroom are important to help them manage future stresses. Mindfulness emphasizes consciously focusing the mind in the present moment, purposefully, without judgment or attachment. Meditation extends this to setting aside time and places to practice mindfulness, and additionally, yoga includes physical postures and breathing techniques that enhance mindfulness and meditation. Several mindfulness programs and techniques have been applied in schools, with positive benefits reported. Some elements of these programs require modifications to be sensitive to the developmental state of the children receiving mindfulness training.</p>
OBJECTIVES: Yoga based lifestyle modifications have been earlier shown to be beneficial in coronary artery disease in a small number of patients. We evaluated the role of lifestyle modification based on Yoga techniques, stress management and dietary modifications in retardation of coronary artery disease. METHODS: This prospective, controlled, open trial included angiographically proven coronary artery disease patients (71 patients in study group and 42 patients in control group). They were assessed clinically, by biochemical parameters, stress myocardial perfusion and function studies and coronary angiography and on psychological parameters. The study group patients were given a family based Yoga Programme which included, control of risk factors, dietary modifications and stress management for a period of one year. The patients were assessed at baseline, at frequent intervals and at the end of one year. RESULTS: At the end of one year of yoga training, statistical significant changes (P<0.05) were found in serum total cholesterol (reduction by 23.3% in study group patients as compared to 4.4% in controls); serum LDL cholesterol (reduction of 26% in study group patients as compared to 2.6% in the control group), regression of disease (43.7% of study group patients v/s 31% control group on MPI and 70.4% of study group v/s 28% of control group on angiography) arrest of progression (46.5% study group v/s 33.3% control group on MPI) and progression (9.9% of study group vs 35.7% of controls on MPI, 29.6% of study group v/s 60.0% of controls on angiography). At the end of the study improvement in anxiety scores was concordant with the improvement seen in the MPI. No untoward effects of the therapy were observed. CONCLUSION: Yoga based lifestyle modifications help in regression of coronary lesions and in improving myocardial perfusion. This is translated into clinical benefits and symptomatic improvement.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:There has been a recent proliferation of research evaluating the efficacy of mindfulness as a clinical intervention. However, there is still little known about trait mindfulness, or how trait mindfulness interacts with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. The current study further explores the effect of trait mindfulness on emotion regulation, as well as whether specific factors of trait mindfulness are uniquely associated with subjective and autonomic reactivity to stress.
METHODS:
Forty-eight healthy male participants were trained in the use of the suppression strategy and then instructed to suppress their responses to the inhalation of a 15% CO2-enriched air mixture for 90 s while their subjective distress and heart rate were recorded.
RESULTS:
After controlling for anxiety-related variables, the ability to provide descriptions of observed experiences predicted less heart rate reactivity to CO2 inhalation, while skillfulness at restricting attention to the present moment was uniquely predictive of less subjective distress. The tendency to attend to bodily or sensory stimuli predicted greater distress during CO2 inhalation.
LIMITATIONS:
The inclusion of only healthy males limits the generalizability of study findings. Also, the sample size was relatively small.
CONCLUSIONS:
These findings suggest that factors associated with trait mindfulness predict less stress reactivity and distress while engaging in suppression above and beyond other variables that have been shown to predict anxious responding. The implications for emotion and clinical research are discussed.
This study investigated the impact of nature experience on affect and cognition. We randomly assigned sixty participants to a 50-min walk in either a natural or an urban environment in and around Stanford, California. Before and after their walk, participants completed a series of psychological assessments of affective and cognitive functioning. Compared to the urban walk, the nature walk resulted in affective benefits (decreased anxiety, rumination, and negative affect, and preservation of positive affect) as well as cognitive benefits (increased working memory performance). This study extends previous research by demonstrating additional benefits of nature experience on affect and cognition through assessments of anxiety, rumination, and a complex measure of working memory (operation span task). These findings further our understanding of the influence of relatively brief nature experiences on affect and cognition, and help to lay the foundation for future research on the mechanisms underlying these effects.
OBJECTIVE:To test feasibility of yoga within a high school curriculum and evaluate preventive efficacy for psychosocial well-being.
METHODS:
Grade 11 or 12 students (N = 51) who registered for physical education (PE) were cluster-randomized by class 2:1 yoga:PE-as-usual. A Kripalu-based yoga program of physical postures, breathing exercises, relaxation, and meditation was taught 2 to 3 times a week for 10 weeks. Self-report questionnaires were administered to students 1 week before and after. Primary outcome measures of psychosocial well-being were Profile of Mood States-Short Form and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children. Additional measures of psychosocial well-being included Perceived Stress Scale and Inventory of Positive Psychological Attitudes. Secondary measures of self-regulatory skills included Resilience Scale, State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2™, and Child Acceptance Mindfulness Measure. To assess feasibility, yoga students completed a program evaluation. Analyses of covariance were conducted between groups with baseline as the covariate.
RESULTS:
Although PE-as-usual students showed decreases in primary outcomes, yoga students maintained or improved. Total mood disturbance improved in yoga students and worsened in controls (p = .015), as did Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF) Tension-Anxiety subscale (p = .002). Although positive affect remained unchanged in both, negative affect significantly worsened in controls while improving in yoga students (p = .006). Secondary outcomes were not significant. Students rated yoga fairly high, despite moderate attendance.
CONCLUSIONS:
Implementation was feasible and students generally found it beneficial. Although not causal due to small, uneven sample size, this preliminary study suggests preventive benefits in psychosocial well-being from Kripalu yoga during high school PE. These results are consistent with previously published studies of yoga in school settings.
In this dynamic book, today's educational leaders offer their best ideas for building school communities that are safe, smart, caring, successful, and emotionally intelligent.
In this dynamic book, today's educational leaders offer their best ideas for building school communities that are safe, smart, caring, successful, and emotionally intelligent.
“Mindfulness” is the buzzword of the moment – but it’s a lot more than a passing trend. It’s an NHS-approved approach to helping deal with anxiety, and it’s also proven to help you sleep better and sharpen your focus. Mindfulness is all about clearing your thoughts and becoming acutely aware of yourself and your surroundings – and if it’s your first foray into the practice, a phone-based app could be an accessible way in. It’s important to remember though that these apps are not specifically designed to treat mental health problems, and should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional help should you be suffering from one. This article provides ten mindfulness apps which are accessible for all practitioner levels.
Despite decades of research on the etiology and treatment of depression, a significant proportion of the population is affected by the disorder, fails to respond to treatment and is plagued by relapse. Six prominent scientists, Aaron Beck, Richard Davidson, Fritz Henn, Steven Maier, Helen Mayberg, and Martin Seligman, gathered to discuss the current state of scientific knowledge on depression, and in particular on the basic neurobiological and psychopathological processes at play in the disorder. These general themes were addressed: 1) the relevance of learned helplessness as a basic process involved in the development of depression; 2) the limitations of our current taxonomy of psychological disorders; 3) the need to work towards a psychobiological process-based taxonomy; and 4) the clinical implications of implementing such a process-based taxonomy.
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Research on the development of theory of mind (ToM), the understanding of people in relation to mental states and emotions, has been a vibrant area of cognitive development research. Because the dominant focus has been addressing when children acquire a ToM, researchers have concentrated their efforts on studying the emergence of psychological understanding during infancy and early childhood. Here, the benchmark test has been the false-belief task, the awareness that the mind can misrepresent reality. While understanding false belief is a critical milestone achieved by the age of 4 or 5, children make further advances in their knowledge about mental states and emotions during middle childhood and beyond. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of children's sociocognitive abilities in older age groups is necessary to understand more fully the course of ToM development. The aim of this review is to outline continued development in ToM during middle childhood. In particular, we focus on children's understanding of interpretation—that different minds can construct different interpretations of the same reality. Additionally, we consider children's growing understanding of how mental states (thoughts, emotions, decisions) derive from personal experiences, cohere across time, and interconnect (e.g., thoughts shape emotions). We close with a discussion of the surprising paucity of studies investigating individual differences in ToM beyond age 6. Our hope is that this chapter will invigorate empirical interest in moving the pendulum toward the opposite research direction—toward exploring strengths, limitations, variability, and persistent errors in developing theories of mind across the life span.
Biofeedback is a mind–body technique in which individuals learn how to modify their physiology for the purpose of improving physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Much like physi- cal therapy, biofeedback training requires active participation on the part of patients and often regular practice between training sessions. Clini- cal biofeedback may be used to manage disease symptoms as well as to improve overall health and wellness through stress management training. Research has shown that biofeedback interven- tions are efficacious in treating a variety of medi- cal conditions, and many Americans are turning to biofeedback and other less traditional therapies for their routine healthcare.Clinical biofeedback training is growing increasingly popular in the USA, as many people are seeking out relatively new approaches to healthcare. This article provides an overview of clinical biofeedback training, outlines two models of training, details research which has established how effective biofeedback is in patients with a given disease, and describes who should be re- ferred for biofeedback training.
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