Neuropsychological Evidence of Mindfulness - Term Paper Example

Reflections on Neuropsychological Evidence of Mindfulness Mindfulness is primarily a concept in psychology; however, when discussing in neurophysiological terms, it is operationally defined as paying attention particularly on the present moment in a non-judgmental way (Baer, 2011). Mindfulness is particularly difficult to measure and quantify in a lab because most psychologists and practitioners in neuroscience are not Buddhist scholars nor do they have extensive experience with meditation. However, the use of experts enables neuroscience to develop reliable and externally valid measures of the mind while in a state of mindfulness. In one study by Farb et al. (2007), the authors used an 8-week course in mindfulness meditation to study extended and momentary self-reference with fMRI; the authors note neurophysiological differences tied to focal reductions in regions of the medial prefrontal cortex among those they defined as novices and those who had participated in the training. By deploying neuroimaging technology and the use of experts in mindfulness to measure differences, the authors define the finding as an elementary dissociation in the neurofunctioning between those who engage in attentional training. As addition neuropsychological evidence of mindfulness, Lazar et al. (2005) researched the effect of long-term meditation practice, and its association with the cortical thickness of the prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula regions in the brains of Insight meditation program participants compared to controls. Using MRI, the researchers found statistically significant differences in prefrontal cortical thickness for those that practiced mindfulness; particularly for those who had practiced mindfulness over longer periods of time, the thickness was more pronounced – demonstrating experience-dependent plasticity associated with mindfulness. The areas studied have significance for brain functions such as sensory, cognitive, and emotional processing, which provides support for the clinical applications of meditation and the practice of mindfulness in daily life. The effective of mindfulness on the brain from a neuroimaging perspective is also evident in a study from Davidson et al. (2003), which relayed significantly increased left-sided anterior activation (a sign of positive affect in the neurology literature) in meditators compared to controls. The researchers also observed significant increases in antibodies to influence vaccine among subjects in meditation relative to controls, which was predicted by the previously mentioned brain differences in the left-sided anterior part of the brain. The authors measured these differences in 25 subjects before and after an eight-week meditation training program; subjects were also vaccinated with influenza vaccine after the trial period. The authors utilize this research to make conclusions about the positive, objective effects of mindfulness meditation on brain function as well as the body’s immune systems—leading them to recommend further research into the ways in which meditation can change body functioning and validating the widespread use of meditative practices for healing outpatients in hospitals and other medical centers. In a response to the Davidson et al. (2003) paper, Travis and Arenander (2004) cast a critical eye on the association between mindfulness meditation and the reported brain effects. While acknowledging the Davidson et al. (2003) research was well-designed and looking into an important research question, they note that the results only found significant activation in central sites rather than central sites, suggesting increased motor activity rather than emotional processing. Also, in light of that comment, Travis and Arenander (2004) doubt that immune response was due to the changes in brain functioning. The dialogue between the two sets of researchers underscores the need for critical evaluation of research claims surrounding the benefits of mindfulness in certain contexts. While neuroimaging results provide an objective look into what mindfulness meditation does to the brain, it is the interpretation and conclusions drawn from those results that must be viewed with a critical eye – not promising results that meditation alone cannot deliver. Thoughts on the Dialogue between Buddhism and Science While neuroimaging evidence is helpful to examining the objective, brain-based effects of mindfulness meditation (and, relatedly, Buddhism), more comprehensive studies are necessary for a more holistic view of the role that the practice can play in daily life for practitioners. Scientific methods looking at Buddhism and mindfulness principally depend on questionnaires to access the thoughts and feelings of those undergoing mindfulness treatments. However, questionnaires are necessarily limited to the degree that they depend on self-reported data that includes the possibility of individuals being mistaken about their own mind-states (i.e. through self-deception). It is generally unreliable to rely on experts to observe mindfulness as well, as observers cannot see the thoughts and feelings of study participants. Therefore, it seems neuroimaging is the best means of getting to real, hard data about the effects of mindfulness practice on individuals. There is also a fundamental difficulty in using meditation practices tied to Buddhism to establish a scientifically valid approach to psychotherapy has to do with the fact that, as alluded to by Hayes (2002), there is a mutually exclusive relationship between religion and science. Religion and spirituality work to the extent that they provide help for those seeking mental health, which might explain the enduring value of religion and spirituality; however, transcendent concepts do this in a way that is incompatible with a scientific approach. In other words, by definition, cannot practice faith and religion in a scientific or clinical way. For that reason, mental health practitioners continue to struggle with applying naturalistic theories of transcendence or spirituality into a new source of treatment. Psychotherapy, which has only be in existence for a hundred years at most, can only benefit from but it cannot fully replace the value of religion to most people, for if one were to try to transform religion into a form of psychotherapy, it would lose its value. The alternative is to correlate positive neural substrates with the mindfulness practice of Buddhism, not to pursue a particular religion-based psychotherapy. While recommending and modifying religious practices based on science is unmanageable, psychiatry researchers have found success, however, in combing the practices of mindfulness meditation with established psychotherapy procedures, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). According to Rapgay, Bystritsky, Dafter, and Spearman (2009), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients benefit from classical mindfulness techniques when applied in a clinical setting. The authors used an experimental research design to show how classical theories of perception and cognition apparent in ancient and contemporary Buddhist mindfulness traditions can be translated into a modern psychotherapy context. While the authors provide very specific suggestions on how this might be true, the conclusion generally is intuitive: if the symptoms of GAD include uncontrollable, excessive worrying and narrow states of attention, then the idea of purposefully focusing attention on moment-to-moment states of mind as a way to alleviate those symptoms is rather obvious. The more important question is whether such a strategy will work broadly for GAD patients, which fails to be answered completely by the use of case study anecdotes in Rapgay, Bystritsky, Dafter, and Spearman (2009). One can see many possible ways to apply Buddhist teachings to Western psychology just from reading the various historically significant texts provided by the Buddha himself as well as those who followed immediately in his tradition. Fundamentally, though, Buddhism is an empirical philosophy whereas psychology has attempted to define itself as an empirical science based on the use of statistics and measurement. Buddhism can frame discussions in terms of principal assumptions and concepts; however, as for basing psychology on Buddhism, it is neither desirable nor actionable for psychology to do so when it has a goal to become a widely respected science. Just as Buddhist scholars have attempted to assert themselves into quantum physics in often questionable ways, so too should the use of psychology to advance the beliefs and teachings of Buddhism make us stop to question. My Experience in the Course I have found the course to be personally beneficial for my understanding of Buddhism, of psychology and neuroscience generally, and the connection between those diverse studies. I have a sincere appreciation for Buddhism as a philosophy and as a set of beliefs and practices, and my grasp of how those concepts relate to science has only enhanced my interest in the subject. I enjoyed working with others to learn the concepts being taught by applying them in my own life. During the part of the class that we learned about mindfulness, I found that it helped to actually practice mindfulness to experience it for myself. While experiencing mindfulness, I found that many of the conclusions of the research that I read were true: I was generally happier, more clear-headed, and calm when emerging from a state of mindfulness. Although I do not have first-hand knowledge of how this is affecting my long-term mental health or how mindfulness practice is affecting my brain, I do get the sense that practicing mindfulness is “worth it” from the perspective of short-term happiness. In spite of my appreciation of Buddhism and of this course, I still will maintain my healthy skepticism of claims made not just in popular media but also in specialized scientific research publications extolling the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, primarily because there is a strong financial and a strong philosophical incentive for practitioners to advertise the clinical and psychotherapeutic benefits of Buddhism and of mindfulness. While I thought mindfulness increased my happiness (at least for short periods), it could just be that sitting and relaxing in one place, rather than being stressed out and doing activities, is the cause for that boost in happiness levels—without the need to bring in Buddhist philosophy, which may just be explanatory baggage. From a scientific perspective, I still think there is much for researchers to prove before it is clear that Buddhism has clear applications to science; my experience in the course underlined that point, though I will keep an open eye looking for those applications. References Baer, R. (2011). Measuring mindfulness. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 241-261. doi:10.1080/14639947.2011.564842 Davidson, R., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S., & ... (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 564-570. doi:10.1097/01.Psy.0000077505.67574.E3 Farb, N. S., Segal, Z., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., Fatima, Z., & Anderson, A. (2007). Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2(4), 313-322. doi:doi: 10.1093/Scan/Nsm030 Hayes, S. (2002). Acceptance, mindfulness, and science. Clinical Psychology-Science and Practice, 9(1), 101-106. Lazar, S., Kerr, C., Wasserman, R., Gray, J., Greve, D., Treadway, M., & ... (2005). Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical. Neuroreport, 16(17), 1893-1897. Rapgay, L., Bystritsky, A., Dafter, R., & Spearman, M. (2011). New strategies for combining mindfulness with integrative cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of rational-emotive and cognitive-behavioral therapy, 29(2), 92-119. Travis, F., & Arenander, A. (2004). EEG asymmetry and mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 66(1), 147-147. Wallace, B., & Shapiro, S. (2006). Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. American Psychologist, 61(7), 690-701. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.7.690 Read More