change your brain by transforming your mind: neuroscientific studies of meditation
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Change your brain by transforming your mind: Neuroscientific studies of
meditation
Richard J. Davidson Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior,
Laboratory for Affec>ve Neuroscience, and Center for Inves>ga>ng Healthy Minds
Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry University of Wisconsin-‐Madison
A brief autobiographical interlude…
The contemporary convergence
• Neuroplas>city and contempla>ve prac>ce • Epigene>cs • Neurally-‐inspired behavioral interven>ons • PuKng the brain back into biomedicine: A pathway back to the mind
The voluntary cultivation of compassion
40 sec
15 sec
Neutral state
Meditation
Neutral state
Neutral state
Meditation
Block design
Meditation
Neutral State
Neutral State
Neutral State
Meditation Meditation
Neutral State
= Auditory stimuli from the Lang database
Event-related design
“Here, what we have tried to do, for the sake of the experiment, is to generate a state in which love and compassion permeate the whole mind, with no other consideration, reasoning or discursive thoughts. This is sometimes called ‘pure compassion’, or ‘non-referential compassion’ (in the sense that it does not focus on particular objects to arouse love or compassion), or ‘all-pervading compassion’.” Matthieu Ricard
Lutz et al., 2004, PNAS
Lutz et al., 2004, PNAS
Which circuits are recruited by the voluntary cul>va>on of compassion?
15 expert meditators, 15 aged-‐matched controls
Voxel-‐wise 3-‐way Interac>on: Group by State by Emo>onal Valence (corrected, p< 0.05)
Lutz et al., PLoS One, (2008)
Lutz et al., PLoS One, (2008)
Compassion medita>on modulates BOLD signal in the amygdala and right TPJ in response to emo>onal sounds
The heart of compassion
Lutz et al., 2009 Neuroimage
Heart rate during compassion vs. neutral blocks
Neurocardiac coupling
Lutz et al., 2009 Neuroimage
Neurocardiac coupling
Lutz et al., 2009 Neuroimage
Can short-‐term compassion training affect the brain
• Two week compassion interven>on – Daily prac>ce via the internet for 30 min/day for 2 weeks
• Comparison group was taught cogni>ve reappraisal
Weng et al., Psychological Science, in press
Elements of Compassion Training
• Contemplate and visualize the suffering and then wishing the freedom from that suffering for: – A loved one – Themselves – A stranger – A difficult person – All beings
• Phrase most used: "May you be free from suffering. May you experience joy and ease."
• Instructed to no>ce visceral sensa>ons (especially in the area of the heart)
• Instructed to feel the compassion emo>onally; not simply repeat phrases cogni>vely
Weng et al., Psychological Science, in press
Study Design
Randomiza>on: Simula>on Scan
Compassion
Reappraisal
Time 1 Measures
Time 2 Measures Training: 2 weeks
30 min/day
fMRI
fMRI Economic Games
Compassion Training
Reappraisal Training
Training Ques>onnaires
Weng et al., Psychological Science, in press
The Compassion group is more prosocial afer 2 weeks of training.
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Compassion Reappraisal
Red
istr
ibut
ion
(Ran
k)
Mann-‐Whitney U = 135.5 *p < 0.05
*
N = 20 N = 21
Weng et al., Psychological Science, in press
Training-‐induced increases in IPC and DLPFC are associated with increases in altruis>c
behavior in COM
Weng et al., Psychological Science, in press
Increased training-‐related increases in PFC-‐Nacc connec>vity predicts increases in
altruis>c behavior in COM
Weng et al., Psychological Science, in press
Effects on ajen>on
Ajen>on
“And the faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering ajen>on, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is compos sui if he have it not. An educa>on which should improve this faculty would be the educa>on par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal than to give prac>cal direc>ons for bringing it about.” William James, The Principles of Psychology, 1890.
Children with ADHD have more variable response times
Leth-‐Steensen et al., 2000
Lutz et al., (2009), J. Neuroscience
Meditation reduces response time variability
Lutz et al., (2009), J. Neuroscience
Frontal phase locking increases from T1 to T2 and predicts decreased RT variability
Does intensive a+en,on training, as cul,vated during medita,on, change the distribu,on of a+en,onal resources?
* Ajen>onal blink task * EEG: 64 channels
* Two groups:
PracDDoner group (n=17): tested before and afer a 3-‐month retreat during which they prac>ced mindfulness medita>on for approximately 10 hours per day.
Control group (n=24): also tested twice with a 3-‐month period in between sessions. This group was provided with a one-‐hour medita>on instruc>on class and then was asked to prac>ce similar medita>ve techniques daily for twenty minutes for one week prior to each session.
Slagter et al., 2007, PLoS Biology
Attentional Blink
+
A D S R 3 U 7 P
T2
T1 T1-‐T2 Interval: short (336 ms) or long (672 ms)
Predic,on:
As mindfulness medita>on cul>vates non-‐reac>ve sensory awareness, we predicted that intensive medita>on would reduce the ajen>onal blink.
(note: par>cipants were not ac>vely engaged in medita>on while performing the task)
Both groups showed a smaller blink at time 2 (Main effect Time; p<.001). This reduction was more pronounced for the practitioners than the controls (Interaction between Group and Time; p=.007). Slagter et al., 2007, PLoS Biology
Prac>>oners show decreased ajen>onal blink and more efficient neural processing following the retreat compared with performance at baseline while controls show lijle change
Slagter et al., 2007, PLoS Biology
What about effects on peripheral biology that may be consequen>al for health?
Meditation effects on antibody titers to influenza vaccine
Davidson et al., 2003
Tumor Necrosis Factor-‐alpha (TNF-‐α) and Interleukin-‐8 (IL-‐8) levels
in suc>on blister fluid
Rosenkranz et al., 2012, Brain, Behavior & immunity
Flare size
Rosenkranz et al., 2012, Brain, Behavior & immunity
Rosenkranz et al., 2012, Brain, Behavior & immunity
HEP MBSR
*r = -‐.53, n = 27 r = .38, n = 16
Change in inflamma>on from T1 to T2 and minutes of prac>ce
Rosenkranz et al., 2012, Brain, Behavior & immunity
MBSR leads to steepening of cor>sol slope
Rosenkranz et al., in prepara>on
Interim summary and conclusions
• Emotion regulation, compassion, kindness, mindfulness and other related characteristics are best viewed as products of trainable skills
• Mental training to enhance these skills changes the brain and body
• This growing body of evidence provides a scientific underpinning for many contemplative practices and can lead to a more widespread incorporation of these practices into institutions of education, medicine and other major societal venues
Challenges, conundrums and opportuni>es
• Ac>ve comparison groups • Measurement of prac>ce • Scalable interven>ons, e.g., internet-‐based • Studies with pa>ents with par>cular physical disorders in which stress is known to exacerbate the disease and neural bases are tractable, e.g., asthma
• Other intervening variables that may be important in producing effects, e.g., sleep
• Novel outcome measures – Health care u>liza>on – Sustainable well-‐being
Envisioning the future
In 2050… • Mental exercise will be accepted and prac>ced in the same way physical exercise is today
• We will have a science of virtuous quali>es
• We will incorporate the mind back into medicine and bejer understand how the brain can modulate peripheral biology biology in ways that affect health. This will lead us to take more responsibility for our own health
• We will develop a secular approach to provide methods and prac>ces from contempla>ve tradi>ons to: – Teach teachers and children ways to bejer regulate emo>ons and ajen>on and cul>vate quali>es like kindness and compassion
– Increase awareness of our interdependence upon others and upon the planet and be more responsible caretakers of our precious environment
– Promote their more widespread adop>on into the major ins>tu>ons of our culture. This will help to restore civility, humility, gra>tude and other virtues in our culture
Example of development and education
The dilemma of adolescence
• Puberty is occurring earlier yet cognitive development and frontal lobe maturation is more strongly correlated with age and experience
• Result is a longer period than ever in history with development of prefrontal regulatory circuits lagging pubertal development
Age at which puberty occurs is growing younger
From Lenroot & Giedd, 2006
Brain maturation continues past 20 years of age
New Imaging Methods: Visualizing the uncinate fasiculus
Can we teach our children to better regulate their negative emotions,
cultivate more positive social skills, and better focus their attention?
YES!
Social and emotional learning competencies
• Self awareness • Social awareness • Self management • Relationship skills • Responsible decision making
SEL is now legally mandated in several states
• In Illinois, three broad learning goals: – Develop self-awareness and self-
management skills to establish and maintain positive relationships
– Use social awareness and interpersonal skills to achieve school and life success
– Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school and community contexts
SEL programs change behavior and improve academic performance
• A recent analysis of 207 studies of SEL that involved a group of more than 288,000 students from around the country. This study found: – Improvement in social and emotional skills – More positive attitudes toward themselves, others and
school – Improvement in social and classroom behavior – Decreases in classroom misbehavior and aggression – Decreases in emotional distress such as stress and
depression – Improvement in test scores and school grades
To catalyze and focus our research efforts on these topics, we have
launched…
Major activities
• Basic Research • Translational Research • Outreach • Training
Preschool children
Preschool kindness curriculum
• Week One-‐ Mindful bodies and plan>ng seeds of peace
• Week Two-‐ How I feel on the Inside shows by what I do on the outside
• Week Three-‐ We can work with problems on the inside and outside
• Week Four-‐ Kindness place: A place to go to be mindful of what is happening on the inside
Preschool kindness curriculum
• Week Five-‐ Working out problems when we have calmed down
• Week Six-‐ Gra>tude: Prac>cing posi>ve emo>ons
• Week Seven-‐ Interconnectedness with all people and the planet
• Week Eight-‐ Gra>tude and caring for our world and wrap up
Design
• Curriculum consists of 24 lessons, 3/week, ~30 minutes per lesson
• 17 preschool students (4-‐5 years of age) in treatment group; 12 in control group
Teacher Report: Prosocial Behavior
Flanker
In the Standard Flanker Task, the participant should focus on the CENTRAL stimulus and ignore the flanking stimuli on either side.
Flanker
Other Sharing
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Pre Post
Num
ber o
f Stic
kers
Intervention Group
Friend Non-friend Stranger Sick
Waisman Center University of Wisconsin-Madison
www.investigatinghealthyminds.org
With a very deep bow of gra>tude!
• Antoine Lutz • Helen Weng • Drew Fox • Heleen Slagter • Julie Brefczynski • John Dunne • Majhieu Ricard • Andy Francis • Donal MacCoon • Dave Perlman • Lisa Flook • Emma Seppala
• Laura Pinger • Daniel Levinson • Melissa Rosenkranz • Katherine Bonus • Larry Greischar • Andy Alexander • Isa Dolski • Susan Jensen • Barb Mathison
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
Albert Einstein, 1921
“The systematic training of the mind—the cultivation of happiness, the genuine inner transformation by deliberately selecting and focusing on positive mental states and challenging negative mental states—is possible because of the very structure and function of the brain…But the wiring in our brains is not static, not irrevocably fixed. Our brains are also adaptable” (His Holiness the Dalai Lama, The Art of Happiness, pp. 44-45).
Does length of training predict magnitude of gamma signal?
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000
45
30
15
%
Practitioners with more years of practice show greater relative gamma power during the initial baseline
r=.79
Some unanswered (and mostly unasked) ques>ons
• What is the func>onal significance of the different brain signals we have observed in response to compassion training?
• What is the rela>on between the cul>va>on of compassion and self-‐related processes? In par>cular, how is self-‐iden>fica>on modulated by compassion training and are some of the effects produced by compassion training mediated by the impact on self-‐relevant processes?
• What is the rela>on between self-‐compassion and pain? How does self-‐compassion alter one’s rela>onship to pain and is pain a useful probe in the study of compassion?
• How does the cul>va>on of compassion increase the likelihood of ac>ng in the face of suffering and how best should this ques>on be studied in the laboratory?
• What is the impact of a highly compassionate person on others? Is this interpersonal context a viable one to bring into the laboratory?
• What are the rela>ons among the four immeasurables? Does cul>va>ng one strengthen each of the others? Is there a norma>ve developmental progression? What do the contempla>ve tradi>ons say about this?
• Cul>va>ng compassion in children? Where to begin?
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