Brain imaging of Meditative States by David Vago
Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation, 2022
As His Holiness, the Dalai Lama put it, in his Foreword to Destructive Emotions, the text reporti... more As His Holiness, the Dalai Lama put it, in his Foreword to Destructive Emotions, the text reporting the results of that year's conference exchange between the Dalai Lama, his monastic entourage, and a cohort of Western philosophers, psychologists, and other cognitive scientists, Buddhism and science are not conflicting perspectives on the world, but rather differing approaches to the same end: seeking the truth. In Buddhist training, it is essential to investigate reality, and science offers its own ways to go about this investigation. While the purposes of science may differ from those of Buddhism, both ways of searching for truth expand our knowledge and understanding. ( Goleman 2004, p. xiii) Science and Buddhism have a long cross-cultural history of dialogue and debate over how they may be commensurable for human health and well-being . In 2005, the most influential voice in the discourse between Buddhism and science, the 14th Dalai Lama, spoke to over 14,000 neuroscientists at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. In response to the question, "What if neuroscience comes up with information that directly contradicts Buddhist philosophy?", His Holiness responded, "Then we would have to change the philosophy to match the science". As the Dalai Lama alludes to repeatedly through his interactions with modern scientists and academic scholars, both cognitive science and Buddhism attempt to reveal the nature of mind and explore its capacity to transcend its own fundamental flaws. His Holiness alludes to the argument of Buddhist exceptionalism -the idea that Buddhism and Buddhist principles associated with the mind and liberation from suffering may be uniquely suited for scientific investigation. Whether or not there is universal agreement that Buddhist conceptions of mind are naturalistic or more appropriate for scientific investigation than other religious traditions, there is a clear argument for further dialogue between the two traditions. Continuing to explore Buddhist philosophical and experiential descriptions of meditation practice using a cognitive science lens, in the broadest sense of that term, 1 is likely to further a cross-cultural investigation of the mind, of the 11 HOW MEDITATION
Equanimity consists of an accepting and unattached disposition, and it facilitates a more rapid r... more Equanimity consists of an accepting and unattached disposition, and it facilitates a more rapid return to baseline after an acute stressor. Mindfulness and meditation are well-established methods of cultivating equanimity, and have been shown to correlate with self-reported, neuroimaging, and molecular indices of change. Skills that promote distress tolerance and emotional regulation can also be seen as promoting equanimity. Equanimity is valued in a range of cultures, faiths, and psychotherapies. In Buddhism, it is by recognizing the impermanence and interconnectedness of all things that one can become unattached and free from suffering. In Christianity, equanimity results from ultimate hope and faith in God. This virtue also has a long history within western philosophy and medicine. These influences can be seen in psychoanalysis and related psychotherapies. Mindfulness has come to the forefront in third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies such as dialectical behavior therapy, and it is also apparent in psychodynamic psychotherapy and mentalization-based treatment. Equanimity can also be promoted through psychopharmacology in addition to psychotherapy, as we discuss in several clinical cases. We suggest that equanimity is valuable in a variety of clinical contexts, for both the patient and the psychiatrist.
Threat-related attention bias is thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of anxi... more Threat-related attention bias is thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Dot-probe studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have indicated that several early ERP components are modulated by threatening and emotional stimuli in anxious populations, suggesting enhanced allocation of attention to threat and emotion at earlier stages of processing. However, ERP components selected for examination and analysis in these studies vary widely and remain inconsistent. The present study used temporospatial principal component analysis (PCA) to systematically identify ERP components elicited to face pair cues and probes in a dotprobe task in anxious adults. Cue-locked components sensitive to emotion included an early occipital C1 component enhanced for happy versus angry face pair cues and an early parieto-occipital P1 component enhanced for happy versus angry face pair cues. Probe-locked components sensitive to congruency included a parieto-occipital P2 component enhanced for incongruent probes (probes replacing neutral faces) versus congruent probes (probes replacing emotional faces). Split-half correlations indicated that the mean value around the PCA-derived peaks was reliably measured in the ERP waveforms. These results highlight promising neurophysiological markers for attentional bias research that can be extended to designs comparing anxious and healthy comparison groups. Results from a secondary exploratory PCA analysis investigating the effects of emotional face position and analyses on behavioral reaction time data are also presented.
Mindfulness
Objectives Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can reduce anxiety and depression symptoms ... more Objectives Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) can reduce anxiety and depression symptoms in adults with anxiety disorders, and changes in threat-related attentional bias may be a key mechanism driving the intervention's effects on anxiety symptoms. Event-related potentials (ERPs) can illuminate the physiological mechanism through which MBCT targets threat bias and reduces symptoms of anxiety. This preliminary study examined whether P1 ERP threat-related attentional bias markers in anxious adults change from pre-to post-MBCT delivered in-person or virtually (via Zoom) and investigated the relationship between P1 threat-related attentional bias markers and treatment response. Methods Pre-and post-MBCT, participants with moderate to high levels of anxiety (N = 50) completed a dot-probe task with simultaneous EEG recording. Analyses focused on pre-and post-MBCT P1 amplitudes elicited by angry-neutral and happy-neutral face pair cues, probes, and reaction times in the dot-probe task and anxiety and depression symptoms. Results Pre-to post-MBCT, there was a significant reduction in P1-Probe amplitudes (d = .23), anxiety (d = .41) and depression (d = .80) symptoms, and reaction times (d = .10). Larger P1-Angry Cue amplitudes, indexing hypervigilance to angry faces, were associated with higher levels of anxiety both pre-and post-MBCT (d = .20). Post-MBCT, anxiety symptoms were lower in the in-person versus virtual group (d = .80). Conclusions MBCT may increase processing efficiency and decreases anxiety and depression symptoms in anxious adults. However, changes in threat bias specifically were generally not supported. Replication with a comparison group is needed to clarify whether changes were MBCT-specific.
This meta-analysis sought to expand upon neurobiological models of mindfulness through investigat... more This meta-analysis sought to expand upon neurobiological models of mindfulness through investigation of inherent brain network connectivity outcomes, indexed via resting state functional connectivity (rsFC). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of rsFC as an outcome of mindfulness training (MT) relative to control, with the hypothesis that MT would increase crossnetwork connectivity between nodes of the Default Mode Network (DMN), Salience Network (SN), and Frontoparietal Control Network (FPCN) as a mechanism of internally-oriented attentional control. Texts were identified from the databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, ERIC, PSYCINFO, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Sciences; and were screened for inclusion based on experimental/quasi-experimental trial design and use of mindfulness-based training interventions. RsFC effects were extracted from twelve studies (mindfulness n = 226; control n = 204). Voxel-based meta-analysis revealed significantly greater rsFC (MT > control) between the left middle cingulate (Hedge's g = .234, p = 0.0288, I 2 = 15.87), located within the SN, and the posterior cingulate cortex, a focal hub of the DMN. Egger's test for publication bias was nonsignificant, bias = 2.17, p = 0.162. In support of our hypothesis, results suggest that MT targets internetwork (SN-DMN) connectivity implicated in the flexible control of internally-oriented attention.
Mapping the Meditative Mind by David Vago
Pacific World, 2017
Psychology and neuroscience can benefit from inter-disciplinary insights
and cross-cultural conce... more Psychology and neuroscience can benefit from inter-disciplinary insights
and cross-cultural concepts. While this statement should be uncontroversial, some in the humanities and the sciences remain unconvinced. In contrast, we suggest that this kind of exchange is already
occurring in some quarters of academia and that both the sciences and
the humanities could benefit from further constructive collaboration. In this article, we focus on the potential for productive exchanges between
psychology, neuroscience, and religious studies—particularly regarding the concepts of self, mind, and mindfulness in Buddhism.
Mindfulness-as a state, trait, process, type of meditation, and intervention has proven to be ben... more 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.
Mind wandering and mindfulness are often described as divergent mental states with opposing effec... more Mind wandering and mindfulness are often described as divergent mental states with opposing effects on cognitive performance and mental health. Spontaneous mind wandering is typically associated with self-reflective states that contribute to negative processing of the past, worrying/fantasizing about the future, and disruption of primary task performance. On the other hand, mindful awareness is frequently described as a focus on present sensory input without cognitive elaboration or emotional reactivity, and is associated with improved task performance and decreased stress-related symptomology. Unfortunately, such distinctions fail to acknowledge similarities and interactions between the two states. Instead of an inverse relationship between mindfulness and mind wandering, a more nuanced characterization of mindfulness may involve skillful toggling back and forth between conceptual and nonconceptual processes and networks supporting each state, to meet the contextually specified demands of the situation. In this article, we present a theoretical analysis and plausible neurocognitive framework of the restful mind, in which we attempt to clarify potentially adaptive contributions of both mind wandering and mindful awareness through the lens of the extant neurocognitive literature on intrinsic network activity, meditation, and emerging descriptions of stillness and nonduality. A neurophenomenological approach to probing modality-specific forms of concentration and nonconceptual awareness is presented that may improve our understanding of the resting state. Implications for future research are discussed.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2016
Frontiers in Psychology, 2013
Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2012
Mindfulness-as a state, trait, process, type of meditation, and intervention has proven to be ben... more 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 c...
Exploration of human consciousness remains a final frontier within basic neuroscience; that is, h... more Exploration of human consciousness remains a final frontier within basic neuroscience; that is, how the finite biological structure and function of the brain give rise to the seemingly infinite expanse that encompasses the terrain of the mind. Contemporary mindfulness and other contemplative practices across historical and post-modern traditions involve systematic forms of mental training that allow a practitioner to develop the mind in very specific and quantifiable ways. While there has been some progress identifying specific electrophysiological markers of meditation, some fundamental questions remain to this scientific enquiry; (1) how to concisely classify discrete and developmentally specific 'mind states' of consciousness that are in line with the subtle complex phenomenology of experience so to yield ontological quantifications? (2) what measures best represent such classification/quantification systems? (3) can the present electrophysiological purview map developmentally specified mind states and stages to neurobiological substrates, based on extant contention (i.e. discrete EEG band functionality, phenomenological significance, and underlying mechanisms) regarding the interpretation of EEG physiology/morphology?
Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Meditation
Mindfulness-based: Clinical & Health outcomes by David Vago
A Neurodevelopmental and Clinical Perspective on States and Stages of Mindfulness and Compassion. In Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation., 2025
This chapter is the product of a collaborative effort between David R. Vago and Sonia Matwin, bot... more This chapter is the product of a collaborative effort between David R. Vago and Sonia Matwin, both of whom contributed equally to its development and final form. Both authors have invested their expertise and insights in a balanced partnership to ensure the integrity and thoroughness of the content presented herein. We wish to acknowledge the foundational work and initial suggestions provided by Michelle Foote-Pearce, whose early contributions to the conceptual framework of this chapter has helped shape the trajectory of our research and writing, and for this, we are grateful.
Equanimity in the Practice of Psychiatry, 2022
Equanimity consists of an accepting and unattached disposition, and it facilitates a more rapid r... more Equanimity consists of an accepting and unattached disposition, and it facilitates a more rapid return to baseline after an acute stressor. Mindfulness and meditation are well-established methods of cultivating equanimity, and have been shown to correlate with self-reported, neuroimaging, and molecular indices of change. Skills that promote distress tolerance and emotional regulation can also be seen as promoting equanimity. Equanimity is valued in a range of cultures, faiths, and psychotherapies. In Buddhism, it is by recognizing the impermanence and interconnectedness of all things that one can become unattached and free from suffering. In Christianity, equanimity results from ultimate hope and faith in God. This virtue also has a long history within western philosophy and medicine. These influences can be seen in psychoanalysis and related psychotherapies. Mindfulness has come to the forefront in third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies such as dialectical behavior therapy, and it is also apparent in psychodynamic psychotherapy and mentalization-based treatment. Equanimity can also be promoted through psychopharmacology in addition to psychotherapy, as we discuss in several clinical cases. We suggest that equanimity is valuable in a variety of clinical contexts, for both the patient and the psychiatrist.
Contemplating movement: A randomized control trial of yoga training for mental health
Mental Health and Physical Activity
Yoga is increasingly recognized for both its physical and mental health benefits, yet its central... more Yoga is increasingly recognized for both its physical and mental health benefits, yet its central mechanisms of action remain unclear. In addition to benefits generally associated with physical exercise, yoga may also cultivate interoception, the sense of the body's internal state, the ability to notice and respond adaptively to physiological cues. Complicating matters, yoga training varies in the relative emphasis on physical movement and the cultivation of interoceptive awareness, yet few studies have explored whether differences in emphasis impact yoga's benefits. A randomized trial explored the effects of interoceptive emphasis in yoga training on attention and subjective wellbeing. Over a 10-week period featuring classes twice each week, community-dwelling adult participants with moderate depressive symptoms (N = 58) were randomized to attend either more Movement-Focused yoga or Interoception-Focused yoga. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and at a one-month follow-up, which included both self-reports of mood and interoception, and task-performance on a Sustained Attention to Response Task. Relative to Movement-Focused yoga, Interoception-Focused yoga practitioners showed greater improvements in sustained attention, but no differences in self-reported mood or interoception. Yet sustained attention improvements in the Interoception-Focused group were greatest for those endorsing high levels of interoception, an effect that was absent in the Movement-Focused group. Despite an exploratory sample size, these findings support the potential for an interoceptive focus to extend yoga's attentional benefits, particularly for those who report high interoceptive awareness.
The effect of mindfulness‐based programs on cognitive performance across the lifespan: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2020
The primary focus of mindfulness‐based program (MBP) research to date has been on mental health. ... more The primary focus of mindfulness‐based program (MBP) research to date has been on mental health. More recently, attention has turned to putative effects on cognition. An evidence synthesis is required to answer the key question of ‘Do MBPs confer cognitive benefit, and if so, for whom?’ A particularly crucial distinction is whether benefits differ according to individuals’ age. We undertook a systematic review and meta‐analysis of all relevant research across the adult lifespan.
Scientific Reports
This meta-analysis sought to expand upon neurobiological models of mindfulness through investigat... more This meta-analysis sought to expand upon neurobiological models of mindfulness through investigation of inherent brain network connectivity outcomes, indexed via resting state functional connectivity (rsFC). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of rsFC as an outcome of mindfulness training (MT) relative to control, with the hypothesis that MT would increase cross-network connectivity between nodes of the Default Mode Network (DMN), Salience Network (SN), and Frontoparietal Control Network (FPCN) as a mechanism of internally-oriented attentional control. Texts were identified from the databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, ERIC, PSYCINFO, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Sciences; and were screened for inclusion based on experimental/quasi-experimental trial design and use of mindfulness-based training interventions. RsFC effects were extracted from twelve studies (mindfulness n = 226; control n = 204). Voxel-based meta-analysis revealed significantly greater rsFC (MT > control) bet...
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Brain imaging of Meditative States by David Vago
Mapping the Meditative Mind by David Vago
and cross-cultural concepts. While this statement should be uncontroversial, some in the humanities and the sciences remain unconvinced. In contrast, we suggest that this kind of exchange is already
occurring in some quarters of academia and that both the sciences and
the humanities could benefit from further constructive collaboration. In this article, we focus on the potential for productive exchanges between
psychology, neuroscience, and religious studies—particularly regarding the concepts of self, mind, and mindfulness in Buddhism.
Mindfulness-based: Clinical & Health outcomes by David Vago