Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity
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 per...
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doaj-e8899505223d4b0cba8e9ca02876cbec2020-11-25T03:49:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612011-02-01510.3389/fnhum.2011.000172192Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticityHeleen A Slagter0Richard J Davidson1Richard J Davidson2Richard J Davidson3Antoine Lutz4University of AmsterdamUniversity of WisconsinUniversity of WisconsinUniversity of WisconsinUniversity of WisconsinAlthough 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.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2011.00017/fullBrainCognitionMeditationNeuroimagingplasticitytraining |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Heleen A Slagter Richard J Davidson Richard J Davidson Richard J Davidson Antoine Lutz |
spellingShingle |
Heleen A Slagter Richard J Davidson Richard J Davidson Richard J Davidson Antoine Lutz Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Brain Cognition Meditation Neuroimaging plasticity training |
author_facet |
Heleen A Slagter Richard J Davidson Richard J Davidson Richard J Davidson Antoine Lutz |
author_sort |
Heleen A Slagter |
title |
Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity |
title_short |
Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity |
title_full |
Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity |
title_fullStr |
Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity |
title_sort |
mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-5161 |
publishDate |
2011-02-01 |
description |
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. |
topic |
Brain Cognition Meditation Neuroimaging plasticity training |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2011.00017/full |
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