Zen meditation and behavior self-control: Similarities, differences, and clinical applications.

Studies the behaviors involved in 2 self-control strategies: Zen meditation and behavioral self-management. The first technique is derived from the Eastern "religious-philosophical" tradition of Zen Buddhism; the other is derived from Western laboratory and field settings and is based on social learning theory. Using naturalistic observation and experimental analysis, Zen breath meditation is conceptualized as a sequence of behaviors involving certain cues and consequences, and thereby under explicit contingency arrangements. Behavioral self-management techniques are similarly analyzed, and results of these analyses are compared and contrasted. After briefly reviewing the clinical outcome literature for both strategies, it is concluded that rehabilitative and preventive benefits may be gained from a combination of the 2 techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Zen meditation on anxiety reduction and perceptual functioning.

Assigned 72 Ss (undergraduates and volunteer university employees) to 3 treatment groups: Zen meditation, antimeditation (control), or no-treatment (control). Cells were balanced for locus of control, sex, and volunteer-S pool status. Training took place over a 1-wk period in the laboratory to ensure compliance. Daily logs suggested that appropriate experiences were achieved. Measures of self-reported anxiety, the Trait Anxiety scale of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Epstein-Fenz Manifest Anxiety Scale showed a decrease after meditation, but no more of a decrease than the 2 control groups. State anxiety after stress showed no effect of meditation. Measures of perceptual functioning from the Holtzman Inkblot Test and the Embedded Figures Test showed no differential improvement as a result of meditation. Locus of control and sex were not related to outcome but volunteer status was, suggesting a personality or motivational influence. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cortical thickness and pain sensitivity in zen meditators.

Zen meditation has been associated with low sensitivity on both the affective and the sensory dimensions of pain. Given reports of gray matter differences in meditators as well as between chronic pain patients and controls, the present study investigated whether differences in brain morphometry are associated with the low pain sensitivity observed in Zen practitioners. Structural MRI scans were performed and the temperature required to produce moderate pain was assessed in 17 meditators and 18 controls. Meditators had significantly lower pain sensitivity than controls. Assessed across all subjects, lower pain sensitivity was associated with thicker cortex in affective, pain-related brain regions including the anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and anterior insula. Comparing groups, meditators were found to have thicker cortex in the dorsal anterior cingulate and bilaterally in secondary somatosensory cortex. More years of meditation experience was associated with thicker gray matter in the anterior cingulate, and hours of experience predicted more gray matter bilaterally in the lower leg area of the primary somatosensory cortex as well as the hand area in the right hemisphere. Results generally suggest that pain sensitivity is related to cortical thickness in pain-related brain regions and that the lower sensitivity observed in meditators may be the product of alterations to brain morphometry from long-term practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in response to a Zen meditation exercise.

In order to explore the psychological functions involved in meditation, 28 male college student volunteers were instructed in a concentration exercise related to Zen Buddhist procedures. Their response to the exercise was rated as high, moderate, and low from verbal reports taken after daily 45-min. sessions over a 2-3 wk. period. Response was then compared with premeditation test results related to attention, tolerance for unrealistic experience, and capacity for regression in the service of the ego (derived from Rorschach expressions of "primary process" and from spontaneous visual imagery). Capacity for regression and tolerance for unrealistic experience significantly predicted response to meditation, while attention measures did not. Once issues related to comfort in the face of strange inner experience are resolved, attention functions necessary to the exercise probably became available. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of meditation on psychological and physiological measures of anxiety.

Randomly assigned 80 undergraduates to 4 treatment groups: mantra meditation, an antimeditation control, a progressive-relaxation control, or a no-treatment control. After training and 2 wks of practice at home, Ss were brought in for an outcome session consisting of the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, as well as GSR and heart-rate measures of autonomic responding at rest, after practicing meditation in the laboratory and after a stress manipulation. There was no evidence from any of the measures that meditation reduced anxiety beyond that shown in the 3 control conditions. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of continuation and outcome in meditation and erect sitting control treatments.

In a 6-mo double-blind study, 49 anxious (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) college student volunteers were assigned to transcendental meditation (TM) and 51 to a control treatment, periodic somatic inactivity (PSI). The control treatment was carefully designed to match the form, complexity, and expectation-fostering aspects of TM, but it incorporated an exercise that involved sitting erect with eyes closed twice daily rather than sitting and meditating. For each treatment 30 demographic and pretest personality variables were correlated with continuation in treatment and outcome defined in terms of trait anxiety change scores. As predicted, the TM dropout was more disturbed and less self-critical than the person who continued meditating. For TM, outcome correlated significantly with anxiety, Sizothymia (16 PF, Factor A), and Autia (16 PF, Factor M). Contrary to what was predicted, there was virtually no overlap between the variables correlated with continuation and outcome for TM and for PSI. It is concluded that differing treatment rationales rendered the treatments appealing, credible, and effective for different types of individuals. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional and affective concomitants of meditation: A cross-sectional study.

Explored differences in attentional absorption and trait anxiety in 58 undergraduates divided into 4 groups: (a) controls who were interested in but did not practice meditation, (b) beginners who had meditated for 1 mo or less, (c) short-term meditators who regularly practiced for 1-24 mos, and (d) long-term meditators who practiced for more than 2 yrs. Ss were administered the Shor Personal Experiences Questionnaire (PEQ), the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS), and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in trait form. As predicted, significant increases in the PEQ and TAS and significant decrements in the STAI were observed from controls through long-term meditators. This pattern, associated with the practice of meditation (i.e., decrements in trait anxiety and increments in the capacity to attend), is consistent with physiological data indicating that meditation is associated with decrements in autonomic arousal and increments in cortical responsivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of meditation--relaxation techniques for the management of stress in a working population

The efficacy of meditation-relaxation techniques has been widely researched in the laboratory, but their effectiveness for management of stress in organizational settings is still relatively unexplored. The present study compared relaxation and control conditions as part of a program of stress-reduction in industry. A total of 154 New York Telephone employees self-selected for stress learned one of three techniques--clinically standardized meditation (CSM), respiratory one method meditation (ROM) or progressive relaxation (PMR)--or served as waiting list controls. At 5.5 months, the treatment groups showed clinical improvement in self-reported symptoms of stress, but only the meditation groups (not the PMR group) showed significantly more symptom reduction than the controls. The meditation groups had a 78% compliance rate at 5.5 months with treatment effect seen whether subjects practiced their techniques frequently or occasionally. The safe and inexpensive semi-automated meditation training has considerable value for stress-management programs in organizational settings.     

Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies.

Neuroelectric and imaging studies of meditation are reviewed. Electroencephalographic measures indicate an overall slowing subsequent to meditation, with theta and alpha activation related to proficiency of practice. Sensory evoked potential assessment of concentrative meditation yields amplitude and latency changes for some components and practices. Cognitive event-related potential evaluation of meditation implies that practice changes attentional allocation. Neuroimaging studies indicate increased regional cerebral blood flow measures during meditation. Taken together, meditation appears to reflect changes in anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal areas. Neurophysiological meditative state and trait effects are variable but are beginning to demonstrate consistent outcomes for research and clinical applications. Psychological and clinical effects of meditation are summarized, integrated, and discussed with respect to neuroimaging data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meditation versus relaxation: An examination of the physiological effects of relaxation training and of different levels of experience with transcendental meditation.

Three groups of meditators with varying amounts of experience (averages of 7 days, 14 mo, and 5 yrs), a group trained in relaxation, and a pseudomeditation group were tested for changes in heart rate, respiration, skin temperature, and skin conductance during meditation or relaxation. Each group consisted of 7 Ss. The 2 more experienced groups of meditators showed decreases in heart rate during meditation while the relaxation group showed increases in skin temperature. There were no significant changes in skin conductance or respiration before, during, or after the meditation or relaxation periods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a single session of large-group meditation and progressive muscle relaxation training on stress reduction, reactivity, and recovery.

Three hundred eighty-seven undergraduate students in a large-group setting were exposed to 20 min of either meditation, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), or a control condition, followed by 1 min of stress induction and another 10 min of each intervention. Participants in the meditation and PMR groups decreased more in cognitive, somatic, and general state anxiety than controls. The PMR group had the greatest decline in somatic anxiety, lending some support to the cognitive/somatic specificity hypothesis. After exposure to a visual stressor, those in the relaxation conditions had higher levels of anxiety and recovered more quickly than controls. Findings demonstrated the effectiveness of brief group training in meditation or PMR in reducing state anxiety after exposure to a transitory stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transcendental meditation and creativity: An empirical investigation.

A claimed benefit of transcendental meditation is increased creativity, although the literature neither supports nor negates such a claim. Four groups of 35 Ss each were administered a battery of 5 creativity measures (the Remote Associates Test, Adjective Check List Creativity Scale, Barron-Welsh Revised Art Scale, Franck Drawing Completion Test, and Similies Test), both before and after a 6-mo period. One group was enrolled in a transcendental meditation program; a 2nd group participated in a relaxation–response program; a 3rd group practiced, within a psychology of creativity course, a variety of creativity-enhancing techniques; the 4th group underwent no special treatment. Only the psychology of creativity group showed significant pre–post increases on 4 of the 5 measures, with no changes for the other 3 groups. The claim that meditation leads to increased creativity is not supported. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practicing of meditation by school children and their levels of field dependence-independence, test anxiety, and reading achievement.

Studied the effects that training in meditation might have on selected aspects of the cognitive and affective functioning of 26 disadvantaged 3rd graders. Ss were given meditation practice over an 18-wk period. 2 control groups were formed. The data indicate that relative to the control groups, Ss who practiced meditation (a) became more field independent, as measured by the Children's Embedded Figures Test, and (b) became less test anxious, as measured by the Test Anxiety Scale for Children. No effect on level of reading achievement was apparent. Results suggest that through meditation practice the individual may learn how to concentrate and to alter volitionally his feeling state by shifting his attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meditation as psychotherapy: A review of the literature.

It has been widely argued that meditation has psychotherapeutic potential. Research on meditation has yielded 3 sets of findings: (a) experienced meditators who are willing to participate without pay in meditation research appear happier and healthier than nonmeditators; (b) beginning meditators who practice meditation for 4-10 wks show more improvement on a variety of tests than nonmeditators tested at the same time; and (c) persons who are randomly assigned to learn and practice meditation show more improvement over 4-10 wks than control Ss assigned to some form of alternate treatment. However, this is not conclusive evidence that meditation is therapeutic. The therapeutic benefits found could be the result of expectation of relief or of simply sitting on a regular basis. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meditation and somatic arousal reduction.

Challenges D. S. Holmes's (see record 1984-25288-001) conclusion that the effects of meditation cannot be due to effects of meditation on somatic arousal and suggests that further research is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Adding legs to a snake": A reanalysis of motivation and the pursuit of happiness from a Zen Buddhist perspective.

Current theories of motivation provide insightful discussions of why people behave as they do. In addition, the research studies surrounding these theories provide insights that can help people move toward the goals of greater competence, autonomy, and relatedness. However, these theories cannot lead to realization of what is widely considered the most fundamental goal of humanity: underlying contentment. In this article, a Zen Buddhist perspective is presented that illuminates some problematic aspects of current theories of motivation. The article also presents the way in which Zen Buddhism avoids these problems and points toward contentment (whether linked to Buddhist doctrine or not). The article closes with educational implications of a Zen Buddhist perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological control of essential hypertension: Review of the literature and methodological critique.

Reviews recent studies (1971–1978) that investigated psychological approaches to the treatment of essential hypertension. 20 studies that use techniques of biofeedback, relaxation, and meditation training are summarized in table form. They are subjected to a detailed methodological critique, and suggestions for methodological improvements and directions for future research are proposed. Most experiments demonstrated blood pressure reductions too small to be of clinical significance. A combination of biofeedback and relaxation/meditation with other behavioral techniques appears most promising, and suggestions for a more comprehensive approach to assessment and training are made. Although studies comparing biofeedback and relaxation/meditation were inconclusive, relaxation/meditation is suggested to hold more promise because it requires no sophisticated technology and has been reported to simultaneously reduce other stress-related complaints. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A 15O-H2O PET study of meditation and the resting state of normal consciousness

The aim of the present study was to examine whether the neural structures subserving meditation can be reproducibly measured, and, if so, whether they are different from those supporting the resting state of normal consciousness. Cerebral blood flow distribution was investigated with the 15O-H20 PET technique in nine young adults, who were highly experienced yoga teachers, during the relaxation meditation (Yoga Nidra), and during the resting state of normal consciousness. In addition, global CBF was measured in two of the subjects. Spectral EEG analysis was performed throughout the investigations. In meditation, differential activity was seen, with the noticeable exception of V1, in the posterior sensory and associative cortices known to participate in imagery tasks. In the resting state of normal consciousness (compared with meditation as a baseline), differential activity was found in dorso-lateral and orbital frontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyri, left temporal gyri, left inferior parietal lobule, striatal and thalamic regions, pons and cerebellar vermis and hemispheres, structures thought to support an executive attentional network. The mean global flow remained unchanged for both subjects throughout the investigation (39+/-5 and 38+/-4 ml/100 g/min, uncorrected for partial volume effects). It is concluded that the (H2)15O PET method may measure CBF distribution in the meditative state as well as during the resting state of normal consciousness, and that characteristic patterns of neural activity support each state. These findings enhance our understanding of the neural basis of different aspects of consciousness.     

Defining a complex intervention: The development of demarcation criteria for “meditation”.

The authors used a 5-round Delphi study with a panel of 7 experts in meditation research to achieve agreement on a set of criteria for a working definition of “meditation” for use in a comprehensive systematic review of the therapeutic use of meditation. Participants agreed that essential to a meditation practice is its use of (a) a defined technique, (b) logic relaxation, and (c) a self-induced state. Participants also agreed that a meditation practice may (d) involve a state of psychophysical relaxation somewhere in the process; (e) use a self-focus skill or anchor; (f) involve an altered state/mode of consciousness, mystic experience, enlightenment or suspension of logical thought processes; (g) be embedded in a religious/spiritual/philosophical context; or (h) involve an experience of mental silence. The results of this study provide insight into the challenges faced by researchers who want to demarcate meditative practices from nonmeditative practices, and they describe an approach to this problem that may prove useful for researchers trying to operationalize meditation in the context of comparative research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative effects of training in external and internal concentration on two counseling behaviors.

Discusses 2 behaviors variously stressed by different counselors: the ability to have empathic understanding of the client and the ability to respond selectively to client statements during a counseling interview. The training procedure of Zen Buddhist monks in meditative deep breathing and external concentration was examined as a technique for developing these behaviors. Compared to 20 controls, the 37 undergraduates trained in the Zen techniques significantly increased their ability in these 2 counseling behaviors. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)