Interesting study looking at striatal fxnl connectivity during FA and OM meditation https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28274-4 … Cool findings, but reading the implications/conclusions, I also wonder whether this tells us anything we couldn't just get from the subjective experience of practice?
-
Show this thread
-
For me, neural underpinnings aren't very interesting w/out experiential correlates. I think the field has advanced enough that these studies should always include some subjective, behavioral, or clinical measure to address the "so what" of pure brain measures.
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @NeuroWendy
Calling this a study of OM meditation is questionable given the practice instructions for OM. Looks like a contrast between intentional sustained attention (FA) and attention switching (inaccurately called "OM").
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @evantthompson
Good point! Unusual, too, that it was only focused on bodily sensations...
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @NeuroWendy
Also, basically a "what lights up" study with only 18 subjects and only 3 scans of 6 minutes.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @evantthompson @NeuroWendy
So, really, all this study shows is that deliberate focused attention vs spontaneous attention switching differ with regard to functional connectivity networks. Something we already knew, and, as you say, doesn't add much to self-report.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
Last, it's odd, given their title/conclusion, they don't cite our finding with @KalinaChristoff that parahippocampal memory processes correlate with spontaneous arising of thoughts in vipassana, meaning that brain regions related to memory are involved in OM style practice
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.