Reference code: | PT/FB/BL-2008-162.04 |
Location: | Arquivo PCA - Pasta 7/2008
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Title:
| Cross-cultural comparison of neural correlate of meditation
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Publication year: | 2011
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URL:
| https://scienceandnonduality.com/C11_2011.shtml
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Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
One of the exciting developments in the cross-cultural study of human consciousness consists of studying non-classical conscious states such as self-induced transcendental states as produced by intensive meditation practice. However, despite decades of interest in this field and renewed interest over the past 10 years, a major current challenge in meditation research continues to be the delineation of the distinct neural correlates to meditative experience across the varied meditative practice types. A prime goal of our research is to assess how attentionally-demanding and emotional stimuli are processed in a range of practices. Here, for the first time, the same protocol will be used to compare different meditation practices. One control group (n=20) is compared to 20 aged-matched expert Vipassana practitioners, 20 aged-matched expert Isha practitioners, and expert practitioners in the Himalayan tradition. To characterize brain dynamics associated with meditation modulation of external stimuli, we are using 64-channel electro-encephalography recordings as well as peripheral autonomic nervous system recordings. The tasks we are using involve auditory, visual, somato-sensory (tactile) and emotional tasks. Each subject performs 7 different experiments over a 4-hour period. All recording are performed in Rishikesh, India and have been granted ethical approval both by Indian ethical committees and the University of San Diego California (IRB 090731). Here we present results where we compared meditators in different traditions and controls when they were performing a control thinking task and when they were meditating. Our results indicate that both mediators and controls tend to respond more strongly to external stimuli when they meditate compared to when they are performing a control thinking task. This effect is more important for meditators than for control subjects. Based on these results, we suggest that meditation correspond to a state of higher alertness. This is the first cross-cultural psychophysics study of meditation to our knowledge
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Accessibility: | Document does not exist in file
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Language:
| eng
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Author:
| Delorme, A.
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Secondary author(s):
| Braboszcz, C., Fernandez, E., Cahn, R.
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Document type:
| Online abstract
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Number of reproductions:
| 3
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Reference:
| Delorme, A., Braboszcz, C., Fernandez, E., & Cahn, R. (2011, October). Cross-cultural comparison of neural correlate of meditation. Paper presented at the Third science and non-duality conference. San Rafael, CA, USA. Abstract retrieved from https://scienceandnonduality.com/C11_2011.shtml
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Indexed document: | No
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Keywords: | Meditation practices / Cross-cultural differences
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