The purpose of this study is to examine behavioral and neural changes resulting from Mindfulness Meditation Training (MMT), and to use this knowledge in advancing our understanding of the mechanisms of attention.
Mindfulness Meditation Training (MMT) has been used successfully to decrease stress, pain, and adverse health symptoms in a varied subject population. MMT has been described as "paying attention in a particular way." Although attention is a key component of meditation, little is known about the cognitive and neural changes within the human attention system that result from MMT. In this study, we examine the effects of MMT on the human attention system using neurobehavioral measures. Here MMT comprises participation in a Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction (MBSR) course, while the comparison group participates in a nutrition education course, both 8 weeks long. We compare the performance and neural activity of these groups both before and after participation in the course.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
60
8-week training course in mindfulness meditation
8-week course in nutrition
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Reaction Times on the Sustained Attention to Response Task.
Single digits (0-9) are flashed on the screen one by one. The number 3 is the target and all other digits are non-targets. The participant is asked to press the space bar for nontargets and withhold from pressing the space bar for the target.
Time frame: 9 weeks
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