Effortless attention as a biomarker for experienced mindfulness practitioners

Objective: The present study aimed at comparing frontal beta power between long-term (LTM) and first-time meditators (FTM), before, during and after a meditation session. We hypothesized that LTM would present lower beta power than FTM due to lower effort of attention and awareness. Methods: Twenty one participants were recruited, eleven of whom were long-term meditators. The subjects were asked to rest for 4 minutes before and after open monitoring (OM) meditation (40 minutes). Results: The two-way ANOVA revealed an interaction between the group and moment factors for the Fp1 (p<0.01), F7 (p = 0.01), F3 (p<0.01), Fz (p<0.01), F4 (p<0.01), F8 (p<0.01) electrodes. Conclusion: We found low power frontal beta activity for LTM during the task and this may be associated with the fact that OM is related to bottom-up pathways that are not present in FTM. Significance: We hypothesized that the frontal beta power pattern may be a biomarker for LTM. It may also be related to improving an attentive state and to the efficiency of cognitive functions, as well as to the long-term experience with meditation (i.e., life-time experience and frequency of practice)

FATORES QUE CONTROLAM A RIQUEZA E A COMPOSIÇÃO DA FAUNA AQUÁTICA EM TANQUES DA BROMÉLIA Aechmea brometiifolia (Rudge) Baker, NA RESTINGA DE JACAREPIÁ - SAQUAREMA/RJ

Many bromeliads species impound water and debris into their leaves, allowing the establishment of aquatic communities of organisms in the se tanks. We analyzed the effect of tank volume, sun exposure and soil inundation on the richness and species composition of the aquatic communities in Aechmea bromeliifolia (Rudge) Baker central tanks. These terrestrial tank bromeliad were sampled in a sand coastal plain vegetation (restinga) at Jucarepiá, Saquarema, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Tanks from flooded soils showed a higher richness than those from unflooded soils. The sun exposure was the main factor affecting the species composition similarity between tanks. The similarities in the species composition of tank bromeliads growing in swamps when compured with non inundated soils bromeliads support the hypothesis of strong barriers, beyond the distance itself (1ike behavior preference or exclusion), restricting the bromeliads tanks colonization by aquatic organisrns from swamps and temporary ponds.Muitas espécies de bromeliáceas são capazes de armazenar água e detritos entre suas folhas, permitindo assim o estabelecimento, nesses tanques foliares , de comunidades de organismos aquáti­cos. Foi analisado o efeito do volume do tanque, da exposição ao sol e do grau de inundação do substrato sobre a riqueza c a composição específica das comunidades dos tanques centrais da bromélia Aechmea brometiifolia (Rudge) Baker, na Restinga de Jacarepia. Saquarcrna, RJ. A riqueza de organis­mos nos tanques foi afetada pelo grau de inundação do substrato: tanques de A. brometiifolia crescen­do sobre substrato inundado abrigavam cornunidades com riqueza significativamente superior àquelas que cresciam em substrato não-inundado. A composição específica das comunidades dos tanques foi por sua vez afetada pelo grau de exposição ao sol. Comunidades de tanques expostos ao sol eram mais similares entre si, independente do volume do tanque e do tipo de inundação do substrato. o mesmo acontecendo entre tanques à sombra. O fato de não ocorrerem mudanças na composição específica dos tanques de bromélias que crescem em pântanos reforça a hipótese de que existem fortes barreiras além da distância (como preferências comportamentais ou exclusão), que impedem a colonização dos tanques das bromeliáceas por organismos de outros corpos temporários de água