Mindfulness and Psychophysiology

Question 1

What part of the autonomic system does the SAM axis recruit?

Answer 1

The sympathetic nervous system

Question 2

What is HRV and how does it relate to stress?

Answer 2

Heart Rate Variability: Is a vagal nerve-mediated marker of cardiac function

High HRV- Marker of parasympathetic nervous system. Reduced negative emotion and Low stress
Low HRV-High stress and Anxiety

Question 3

What can HRV be used to study?

Answer 3

Stress, Chronic illness, Psychopathology

Recently: Attention regulation process

Question 4

What did Luma et al find regarding differing mindfulness training?

Answer 4

HRV decreased in response to Love and kindness meditation and observing thoughts meditaion.

Question 5

Azam et al found what regarding mindfulness on HRV?

Answer 5

Controls showed increased HRV but not Maladaptive perfectionists showing differing groups may react differently to interventions.

Question 6

What did Braeken find with pregnant women?

Answer 6

Mindfulness group less anxiety and less HRV decline during pregnancy.

Infants less negative social behaviour

Question 7

What were some of the issues of Bracken’s study?

Answer 7

Use of self reporting

Question 8

What is sensory information filtering (Sensory Gaiting)?

Answer 8

Attenuation of neural responses to repeated stimuli

Question 9

What 3 things should be noted about sensory gaiting?

Answer 9

It is a complex system

It is evaluated by repeatedly presenting a stimuli and measuring the degree of neural inhibition that occurs

Inhibition is just one possible process involved

Question 10

What could mindfulness be seen as the opposite of according to Austin?

Answer 10

Habituation

Question 11

What did Kasamatsu and Hirai note in their study?

Answer 11

That experienced Zen monks did not exhibit alpha blocking habituation

Question 12

What happened when Becker and Shapiro tried to replicate Kasamatsu’s study?

Answer 12

No differences could be found.

However the studies were not exactly the same

Question 13

What is the Acosutic Startle Reflex and how can we measure it and what can it tell us?

Answer 13

This is our physical reaction to loud noises, particularly concerned with the contractions in the orbiculares oculi muscle.

It is measured using electromyography attached to muscles (normally the face)

It can thus show if we habituate to a sound (usually by the 4th presentation)

Question 14

How can we calculate the “intensity of Practice”?

Answer 14

Hours practiced- (Years practiced x 365)

Question 15

What did Antonova find out regarding mindfulness and ASR?

Answer 15

Intensive practitioners showed less habituation

Moderate practice enhances habituation (practice effects on meditation may be non-linear)

Question 16

What is Pre-Pulse Inhibition (PPI)?

Answer 16

PPI refers to the phenomena of a weak stimulus preceding a strong stimulus and lessening the startle reflex.

Question 17

How can we measure PPI?

Answer 17

Via eye blinks when stimulus is presented auditory

Presenting prepulse one ear at a time (monaural) or both (binaural)

Binaural is more effective.

Question 18

What did Kumari et al find regarding PPI and mindfulness?

Answer 18

PPI was no different between the groups.

However meditators were far more efficient at attentional tasks and reaction times

Question 19

Why are we interested in habituation in mental health?

Answer 19

From a Buddhist background discontentment occurs due to habituation and a lack of appreciation of experiences.

Faster inhibition is related to searching for new highs and experiences and impulsivity.

Mindfulness allows us to experience things are fresh regardless of exposure leading to a more fulfilling life.

LaRowe et al.

Question 20

What is the purpose of “smooth movement” and “Secadic movement”

Answer 20

These relate to movements of the eye that allow the image to stay centralised to the Fovea.

Question 21

Smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM), can be measured by which two processes?

Answer 21

Compensatory catch up saccades

Intrusive anticipatory saccades

Question 22

What did Kumari et al find with regards to SPEM?

Answer 22

Long term meditators were able to track moving images more efficiently than mediation naive individuals.

Less latency, less catch ups and less anticipatory saccades.