March Meeting: Sunday, Mar. 25th at 6 pm EST:
Is there any neural evidence to support mindfulness meditation?
Mindfulness meditation has been getting a lot of buzz these days. From reducing stress, to increasing attentional capabilities, to improved emotional regulation, to increased self-awareness, it seems mindfulness is truly an amazing activity that promotes healthy outcomes. But is it really? What are the neural mechanisms thought to underlie mindfulness meditation’s purported benefits?
This month’s discussion is on the neuroscience of mindfulness meditation (Tang, Holzel, & Posner 2015). Tang et al. look over the past two decades of neuroimaging studies of mindfulness meditation and discuss what evidence exists to support its myriad of suggested health benefits. The neural mechanisms are found to be increasingly unclear and the methodology for many studies somewhat worrisome.
This month our presenter will be Molly McKinney, an undergraduate at The Ohio State University who volunteers as a Neuroscience Ambassador to the OSU Neuroscience Program. She is a research assistant in the Cognitive Control lab headed by Dr. Andrew Leber, and her interests include the cognitive factors involved in meditation, emotional regulation, and psychopharmacology.