Tim Brunson DCH

Welcome to The International Hypnosis Research Institute Web site. Our intention is to provide quality information to clinicians and the general public concerning hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and other mind/body modalities. We intend to expand our coverage to include such topics as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), energy psychology and medicine, and other related topics. While our intention is to provide quality information derived from valid sources, including peer reviewed literature concerning significant research, this site is not presented as a source of medical or psychological advice. Clinicians wishing to expand their scope of practice or protocols based upon presented information should perform due diligence prior to use. It is our sincere hope to stimulate interest in these topics and to contribute to the evolution of the science of hypnosis. -- Tim Brunson, PhD

Brain activation during compassion meditation: a case study.

Posted At : September 24, 2010 10:13 AM | Posted By : Tim Brunson, PhD
Related Categories: Meditation
OBJECTIVES: B.L. is a Tibetan Buddhist with many years of compassion meditation practice. During meditation B.L. uses a technique to generate a feeling of love and compassion while reciting a mantra. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neural correlates of compassion meditation in 1 experienced meditator.

METHODS: B.L. was examined by functional magnetic resonance imaging during compassion meditation, applying a paradigm with meditation and word repetition blocks.

RESULTS: The most significant finding was the activation in the left medial prefrontal cortex extending to the anterior cingulate gyrus. Other significant loci of activation were observed in the right caudate body extending to the right insula and in the left midbrain close to the hypothalamus.

CONCLUSIONS: The results in this study are in concordance with the hypothesis that compassion meditation is accompanied by activation in brain areas involved with empathy as well as with happy and pleasant feelings (i.e., the left medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus).

Engström M, Söderfeldt B. J Altern Complement Med. 2010 May;16(5):597-9. Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. maria.engstrom@liu.se

Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Print | Send | Bookmark and Share | Linking Blogs | 481 Views
TrackBacks
There are no trackbacks for this entry.

Trackback URL for this entry:
http://www.hypnosisresearchinstitute.org/trackback.cfm?0BA9579C-C09F-2A3B-F69E5D53161F3516

[Add Trackback]
Comments

There are no comments for this entry.

[Add Comment]
© 2000 - 2012The International Hypnosis Research Institute, All Rights Reserved.

Contact