by Tim Brunson, PhD

Meditation is an often misunderstood practice with several variations that are taught by many different religions. It often is described in terms of calm-abiding (i.e. a quieting of the mind) or analytical (i.e. focused on a particular concept such as compassion). The unifying concept is a meditator's ability to harness their mental processes.

The direct mental benefits of a successful meditation session include a quieting of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) – which plays a key role in transitioning between thoughts – and the activation of the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. However, while this may have a relaxation benefit – with all the implications for improving the digestive process and boosting the immune system – researchers are increasingly becoming aware of the potential for meditation to help with higher brain functions. Indeed, beyond the benefits derived from meditation-induced relaxation, it is the stimulative affect of analytical meditation that may have the biggest benefit.

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The relationship between subjective memory beliefs and suggestibility, compliance, false memories, and objective memory performance was studied in a community sample of young and middle-aged people (N = 142). We hypothesized that people with subjective memory problems would exhibit higher suggestibility and compliance levels and would be more susceptible to false recollections than those who are optimistic about their memory. In addition, we expected a discrepancy between subjective memory judgments and objective memory performance. We found that subjective memory judgments correlated significantly with compliance, with more negative memory judgments accompanying higher levels of compliance. Contrary to our expectation, subjective memory problems did not correlate with suggestibility or false recollections. Furthermore, participants were accurate in estimating their objective memory performance.

Am J Psychol. 2009 Summer;122(2):249-57. Van Bergen S, Jelicic M, Merckelbach H. Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. s.venbergen@psychology.unimaas.nl