Mental Training as a Tool in the Neuroscientific Study of Brain and Cognitive Plasticity

Abstract

Although the adult brain was once seen as a rather static organ, it is now clear that the organization of brain circuitry is constantly changing as a function of experience or learning. Yet, research also shows that learning is often specific to the trained stimuli and task, and does not improve performance on novel tasks, even very similar ones. This perspective examines the idea that systematic mental training, as cultivated by meditation, can induce learning that is not stimulus or task specific, but process specific. Many meditation practices are explicitly designed to enhance specific, well-defined core cognitive processes. We will argue that this focus on enhancing core cognitive processes, as well as several general characteristics of meditation regimens, may specifically foster process-specific learning. To this end, we first define meditation and discuss key findings from recent neuroimaging studies of meditation. We then identify several characteristics of specific meditation training regimes that may determine process-specific learning. These characteristics include ongoing variability in stimulus input, the meta-cognitive nature of the processes trained, task difficulty, the focus on maintaining an optimal level of arousal, and the duration of training. Lastly, we discuss the methodological challenges that researchers face when attempting to control or characterize the multiple factors that may underlie meditation training effects.

Meditation and Cognitive Ageing: the Role of Mindfulness Meditation in Building Cognitive Reserve

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The benefits of simply observing: Mindful attention modulates the link between motivation and behavior.

“…The attention training component of mindfulness has already been identified and studied as a separate component that demonstrates "the benefits of being present" (e.g., Brown & Ryan, 2003;Slagter, Davidson, & Lutz, 2011;Wadlinger & Isaacowitz, 2011). Little research, however, has systematically investigated the perspectival component of mindfulness that focuses on "the benefits of simply observing."…”

A resilience framework for promoting stable remission from depression

“…As a form of mental training, meditation has an advantage over other types of skills training in changing neural structure and functioning (Slagter, Davidson, & Lutz, 2011). Meditation, and other forms of mental training, do not rely on external stimuli, but instead rely on the mental simulation of core cognitive and emotional processes that support a wide range of related skills (Slagter et al, 2011). This propensity for meditation-induced changes in neural processes to support skills that transfer to novel areas of one's life provides one powerful mechanism through which meditation can induce lasting behavioral and emotional changes.…”