Effortless Attention as a Biomarker for Experienced Mindfulness Practitioners

Tanaka, Guaraci Ken; Maslahati, Tolou; Gongora, Mariana; Bittencourt, Juliana; Lopez, Luiz Carlos Serramo; Demarzo, Marcelo; Budde, Henning; Teixeira, Silmar; Basile, Luis; Campayo, Javier García; Cagy, Maurício; Ribeiro, Pedro; Velasques, Bruna

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138561

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Still, there are noticeably findings in other bandwidths: Dentico et al ( 2018 ) evaluated meditators before and after long CDM and ADM practices reporting an enhanced activity in frequency bands ranging from delta to low-gamma over midline prefrontal and left centro-parietal electrodes, with the higher spatial extent in the theta range. Tanaka et al ( 2015 ) reported that open monitor meditators (CDM-OM) had lower frontal power in beta during both meditation and baseline. For the delta band, Kim et al ( 2014 ) reported an increase solely in this bandwidth when comparing autogenic meditation (CDM-FA) with baseline, Baijal and Srinivasan ( 2010 ) also reported increases not only in these frequencies, but also in alpha for Sahaj Samadhi (CDM-FA).…”

Section: Spectral Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram

Deolindo

Ribeiro

Aratanha

et al. 2020

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meditation practices, originated from ancient traditions, have increasingly received attention due to their potential benefits to mental and physical health. The scientific community invests efforts into scrutinizing and quantifying the effects of these practices, especially on the brain. There are methodological challenges in describing the neural correlates of the subjective experience of meditation. We noticed, however, that technical considerations on signal processing also don't follow standardized approaches, which may hinder generalizations. Therefore, in this article, we discuss the usage of the electroencephalogram (EEG) as a tool to study meditation experiences in healthy individuals. We describe the main EEG signal processing techniques and how they have been translated to the meditation field until April 2020. Moreover, we examine in detail the limitations/assumptions of these techniques and highlight some good practices, further discussing how technical specifications may impact the interpretation of the outcomes. By shedding light on technical features, this article contributes to more rigorous approaches to evaluate the construct of meditation.

show abstract

Section: Spectral Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram

Deolindo

Ribeiro

Aratanha

et al. 2020

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent efforts from 38 research teams showed that breath counting during meditation sessions was associated with 39 higher mindfulness skills and could be considered in future investigations as a behavioral 40 measure of mindfulness skills [69]. Furthermore, measures of effortless attention could also 41 be included as a biomarker of mindfulness practice for experienced meditators [70].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of mindfulness training on weight-loss and health-related behaviours in adults with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ruffault

Czernichow

Hagger

et al. 2017

Obesity Research & Clinical Practice

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive quantitative synthesis of the effects of 2 mindfulness training interventions on weight-loss and health behaviors in adults with 3 overweight and obesity using meta-analytic techniques. Studies included in the analysis (n = 4 12) were randomized controlled trials investigating the effects of any form of mindfulness 5 training on weight loss, impulsive eating, binge eating, or physical activity participation in 6 adults with overweight and obesity. Random effects meta-analysis revealed that mindfulness 7 training had no significant effect on weight loss, but an overall negative effect on impulsive 8 eating (d = -1.13) and binge eating (d = -.90), and a positive effect on physical activity levels 9 (d = .42). Meta-regression analysis showed that methodological features of included studies 10 accounted for 100% of statistical heterogeneity of the effects of mindfulness training on 11 weight loss (R 2 = 1,00). Among methodological features, the only significant predictor of 12 weight loss was follow-up distance from post-intervention (b = 1.18; p < .05), suggesting that 13 the longer follow-up distances were associated with greater weight loss. Results suggest that 14 mindfulness training has short-term benefits on health-related behaviors. Future studies 15should explore the effectiveness of mindfulness training on long-term post-intervention 16 weight loss in adults with overweight and obesity. 17 18

show abstract

“…This highlights the need for more ‘length of practice’ demarcations in mindfulness studies and suggests that highly advanced practitioners may indeed function at levels that standardized self-report mindfulness measures cannot always identify (Tanaka et al, 2015). The use of self-report measures with a broader range, or ones that evaluate expected gains of meditators such as non-attachment (Sahdra et al, 2015), could be coupled with an EEG evaluation to better map neuroscientific differences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindfulness and Nondual Well-Being – What is the Evidence that We Can Stay Happy?

Jones

2022

Review of General Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research into subjective well-being (SWB) focuses on conducive life conditions, healthy cognitive-affective processes and adaptive behaviours, however, in this model, well-being fluctuates based on changing mental and physical phenomena. This inquiry explores the possibility that we can have a nondual experience of well-being that is unaffected by such movements and investigates if the literature supports this. The assertion in traditional mindfulness that the sense of self is constructed and responsible for such fluctuations is explored, along with what evidence there is that mindfulness practices deliver relevant cognitive and behavioural correlates associated with such a way of being. Proposed preconditions include (a) nondual awareness or the perception of no-self; (b) increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and increased self-lessness; (c) increased capacity to maintain (or protect) well-being including heightened emotional self-regulation and resilience to aversive stimuli. Research findings provide some evidence that the sense of self can be both constructed and deconstructed, and that mindfulness training may target psychological dimensions that could contribute to an experience of well-being that transcends the impact of life conditions. Recommendations are made for a collaborative relationship between SWB research and mindfulness to expand the inquiry into possible causes and conditions of ‘nondual well-being’.

show abstract

Effortless Attention as a Biomarker for Experienced Mindfulness Practitioners

Cited by 11 publications

References 52 publications

A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram

A Critical Analysis on Characterizing the Meditation Experience Through the Electroencephalogram

The effects of mindfulness training on weight-loss and health-related behaviours in adults with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Mindfulness and Nondual Well-Being – What is the Evidence that We Can Stay Happy?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About