40 research outputs found
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Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness
Mindfulness—as a state, trait, process, type of meditation, and intervention has proven to be beneficial across a diverse group of psychological disorders as well as for general stress reduction. Yet, there remains a lack of clarity in the operationalization of this construct, and underlying mechanisms. Here, we provide an integrative theoretical framework and systems-based neurobiological model that explains the mechanisms by which mindfulness reduces biases related to self-processing and creates a sustainable healthy mind. Mindfulness is described through systematic mental training that develops meta-awareness (self-awareness), an ability to effectively modulate one's behavior (self-regulation), and a positive relationship between self and other that transcends self-focused needs and increases prosocial characteristics (self-transcendence). This framework of self-awareness, -regulation, and -transcendence (S-ART) illustrates a method for becoming aware of the conditions that cause (and remove) distortions or biases. The development of S-ART through meditation is proposed to modulate self-specifying and narrative self-networks through an integrative fronto-parietal control network. Relevant perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral neuropsychological processes are highlighted as supporting mechanisms for S-ART, including intention and motivation, attention regulation, emotion regulation, extinction and reconsolidation, prosociality, non-attachment, and decentering. The S-ART framework and neurobiological model is based on our growing understanding of the mechanisms for neurocognition, empirical literature, and through dismantling the specific meditation practices thought to cultivate mindfulness. The proposed framework will inform future research in the contemplative sciences and target specific areas for development in the treatment of psychological disorders
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Top-Down Reorganization of Activity in the Visual Pathway after Learning a Shape Identification Task
Learning in shape identification led to global changes in activation across the entire visual pathway, as revealed with whole-brain fMRI. Following extensive training in a shape identification task, brain activity associated with trained shapes relative to the untrained shapes showed: (1) an increased level of activity in retinotopic cortex (RC), (2) a decrease in activation of the lateral occipital cortex (LO), and (3) a decrease in the dorsal attentional network. In addition, RC activations became more correlated (and LO activation, less correlated) with performance. When comparing target-present and target-absent trials within the trained condition, we observed a similar decrease in the dorsal attentional network but not in the visual cortices. These findings indicate a large-scale reorganization of activity in the visual pathway as a result of learning, with the RC becoming more involved (and the LO, less involved) and that these changes are triggered in a top-down manner depending on the perceptual task performed
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Altered threat and safety neural processing linked to persecutory delusions in schizophrenia: a two-task fMRI study
Persecutory delusions are a clinically important symptom in schizophrenia associated with social avoidance and increased violence. Few studies have investigated the neurobiology of persecutory delusions, which is a prerequisite for developing novel treatments. The aim of this two-paradigm functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study is to characterize social “real world” and linguistic threat brain activations linked to persecutory delusions in schizophrenia (n=26) using instructed-fear/safety and emotional word paradigms. Instructed-fear/safety activations correlated to persecutory delusion severity demonstrated significant increased lateral orbitofrontal cortex and visual association cortex activations for the instructed-fear vs. safety and instructed-fear vs. baseline contrasts; decreased lateral orbitofrontal cortex and ventral occipital-temporal cortex activations were observed for the instructed-safety stimuli vs. baseline contrast. The salience network also showed divergent fear and safety cued activations correlated to persecutory delusions. Emotional word paradigm analyses showed positive correlations between persecutory delusion severity and left-lateralized linguistic and hippocampal–parahippocampal activations for the threat vs. neutral word contrast. Visual word form area activations correlated positively with persecutory delusions for both threat and neutral word vs. baseline contrasts. This study links persecutory delusions to enhanced neural processing of threatening stimuli and decreased processing of safety cues, and helps elucidate systems-level activations associated with persecutory delusions in schizophrenia