A5012998089- Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Mental Health Research Topics
- Neuroscience, Education and Cognitive Function
- Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Mind wandering and attention
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Action Observation and Synchronization
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Mental Health and Psychiatry
- EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Sleep and Wakefulness Research
- Music Therapy and Health
- Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
- Paranormal Experiences and Beliefs
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Sleep and related disorders
- Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Child Therapy and Development
- Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
University of Haifa
2016-2025
Brain (Germany)
2024
Université de Lyon
2023
Weizmann Institute of Science
2013-2020
Bar-Ilan University
2011-2016
Sapienza University of Rome
2015
In recent years, the scientific study of meditation and psychedelic drugs has seen remarkable developments. The increased focus on in cognitive neuroscience led to a cross-cultural classification standard styles validated by functional structural neuroanatomical data. Meanwhile, renaissance research shed light neurophysiology altered states consciousness induced classical hallucinogens, such as psilocybin LSD, whose effects are mainly mediated agonism serotonin receptors. Few attempts have...
Clinical and neuroscientific evidence indicates that transdiagnostic processes contribute to the generation maintenance of psychopathological symptoms disorders. Rigidity (inflexibility) appears a core feature most pathological processes. Decreasing rigidity may prove important restore maintain mental health. One primary domains in which flexibility plays role concerns self. We adopt pattern theory self (PTS) for working definition This incorporates pluralist view on as constituted by...
Contemporary philosophical and neurocognitive studies of the self have dissociated two distinct types self-awareness: a "narrative" self-awareness (NS) weaving together episodic memory, future planning self-evaluation into coherent self-narrative identity, "minimal" (MS) focused on present momentary experience closely tied to sense agency ownership. Long-term Buddhist meditation practice aims at realization "selfless" mode awareness (SL), where identification with static is replaced by...
Meditation practice can lead to what have been referred as "altered states of consciousness."One the phenomenological characteristics these is a joint alteration in sense time, space, and body. Here, we set out study unique experiences time space by collaborating with select group 12 long-term mindfulness meditation (MM) practitioners neurophenomenological setup, utilizing first-person data guide neural analyses. We hypothesized that underlying activity accompanying alterations would be...
Self-specific processes (SSPs) specify the self as an embodied subject and agent, implementing a functional self/nonself distinction in perception, cognition, action. Despite recent interest, it is still undetermined whether SSPs are all-or-nothing or graded phenomena; they can be identified neuroimaging data; altered through attentional training. These issues approached neurophenomenological exploration of sense-of-boundaries (SB), fundamental experience being 'I' (self) separated from...
This paper is a practical guide to neurophenomenology. Varela's neurophenomenological research program (NRP) aspires bridge the gap between, and integrate, first-person (1P) third-person (3P) approaches understanding mind. It does so by suggesting methodological framework allowing these two irreducible phenomenal domains relate reciprocally support investigation of one another. While highly appealing theoretically, neurophenomenology invites researchers challenging endeavor. Based on our...
A fundamental aspect of the sense self is its pre-reflective dimension specifying as a bounded and embodied knower agent. Being constant tacit feature structuring consciousness, it eludes robust empirical exploration. Recently, deep meditative states involving global dissolution have been suggested promising path for advancing such an investigation. To that end, we conducted comprehensive phenomenological inquiry into self-boundary alteration. The induced were systematically characterized by...
Abstract In this paper, we address core insights from Buddhist psychology about mind-body phenomena and the self, relate such to notion of self-pattern developed in pattern theory self. We emphasize dynamic, temporal enactive characteristics self-pattern, consistent with non-self. Although there is no one-to-one mapping psychological concepts onto are important similarities among various processes dynamical relations that constitute a pragmatic can explain both experiences self offer mutual...
Human experience is imbued by the sense of being an embodied agent. The investigation such basic self-consciousness has been hampered difficulty comprehensively modulating it in laboratory while reliably capturing ensuing subjective changes. present preregistered study fills this gap combining advanced meditative states with principled phenomenological interviews: 46 long-term meditators (19 female, 27 male) were instructed to modulate and attenuate their self-experience during...
Human predictive capacity underlies its adaptive strength but also the potential for existential terror. Grounded in processing framework of brain function, we recently showed using a magnetoencephalogram visual mismatch-response (vMMR) paradigm that prediction-based self-specific neural mechanisms shield self from threat-at level perception-by attributing death to 'other' (nonself). Here test preregistered hypothesis insight meditation grounded on mindful awareness is associated with...
The default mode network (DMN) has been largely studied by imaging, but not yet neurodynamics, using electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity (FC). mindfulness meditation (MM), a receptive, non-elaborative training is theorized to lower DMN activity. We explored: (i) the usefulness of EEG-FC for investigating and (ii) MM-induced effects. To this end, three MM groups were compared with controls, employing (-MPC, mean phase coherence). Our results show that: activity was identified...
Every experience, those we are aware of and not, is embedded in a subjective timeline, tinged with emotion, inevitably evokes certain sense self. Here, present phenomenological model for consciousness selfhood which relates time, awareness, emotion within one framework. The state space (CSS) theoretical one. It relies on broad range literature, hence has high explanatory integrative strength, helps visualizing the relationship between different aspects experience. Briefly, it suggested that...
The objective of the present study was to investigate body-cognitive relationship through behavioral and electrophysiological measures in an attempt uncover underlying mediating neuronal mechanism for movement-induced cognitive change. To this end we examined effects Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), a new whole-body training paradigm on performance, including creativity reaction time tasks, change, using within-subject pre-post design. Creativity studied by means Alternate Uses Task, measuring...
Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) is a whole-body movement contemplative practice aimed at increasing health and well-being. Previous research studying the effect of one QMT session suggested that its means for promoting by enhancing cognitive flexibility, an important dimension creativity. Yet, little known about longer on creativity, or relative contribution motor aspects training. Here, we continue this line in two inter-related studies, examining effects prolonged QMT. In first, investigated...
Interest has been growing in the use of mindfulness meditation (MM) as a therapeutic practice, accumulating evidence highlights its potential to effectively address range mental conditions. While many fMRI studies focused on neural activation and functional connectivity during meditation, impact long-term MM practice spontaneous brain activity, expression resting state networks over time, remains unclear. Here, intrinsic network dynamics were compared between experienced meditators...
Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) is a specifically-structured walking meditation, aimed at improving reflectivity and lowering habitual thought movement. Here we set out to examine the possible effect of QMT on reflectivity, employing Hidden Figures Test (HFT), which assesses both spatial performance (measured by correct answers) as well (interpolated from answers reaction time). In first study (n = 24, only females), showed that significantly improves HFT performance, compared two groups,...