The role of neuroscience in building
a CBS conceptualization of
mindfulness
Lindsay Fletcher, M.A.
June 22, 2010
One of the last remaining problems in science is
the riddle of consciousness. The human
brain—a mere lump of jelly inside your cranial
vault—can contemplate the vastness of
interstellar space and grapple with concepts
such as zero and infinity. Even more
remarkably it can ask disquieting questions
about the meaning of its own existence. "Who
am I" is arguably the most fundamental of all
questions.
- V.S. Ramachandran
The case of bird song
• Baby birds learn to sing by hearing and then
practicing
• There are specific neural pathways that are
necessary for song acquisition and production
• Adult neurogenesis discovered in canaries
• Does this mean that song learning takes place
in the brain?
Definitions of Mindfulness
Bishop et al. 2004:
(1) “Self-regulation of attention so that it is
maintained on immediate experience,
thereby allowing for increased recognition of
mental events in the present moment” and
(2) “A particular orientation toward one’s
experiences in the present moment, an
orientation that is characterized by curiosity,
openness, and acceptance.”
Definitions of Mindfulness
Kabat-Zinn 1994:
“Paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in
the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”
DBT:
“The intentional process of observing, describing,
and participating in reality nonjudgmentally, in
the moment, and with effectiveness”
An ACT Conceptualization
Self-as-Content
• A process whereby an individual experiences the
self as defined by verbal descriptors and ongoing
evaluation.
• This persistent commentary creates a cohesive
sense of self based on the “story” of who we are.
• New and old information are filtered through this
view of self in order to create a cohesive contentbased story that reflects a verbal knowing of self
that is based on continual evaluation and
comparison.
The Default Mode Network
• Corresponds with activity in mPFC and other
midline regions
• Tonic activity at rest
• Abnormal activity in the DMN correlates with
many psychological problems
• Decreased activity in this network in
experienced meditators (Brefczynski-Lewis et al., 2009)
Self-as-Context
• The experience of self as an observer of
thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations as
passing events occurring in the present
moment rather than solid entities that define
self.
• Self-as-context transcends static conceptual
verbal descriptors of self, such as “I am smart”
or “I am lazy”
• The perspective of I-Here-Now
Meditation and Self-as-Context
• Meditative traditions refer to a transcendent
self that is not separate from the rest of
humanity
• Non-separateness
• Functional contextual approach = “one world”
Meditation and mPFC
• Meditation results in increased cortical
thickness in mPFC (and other areas) (Lazar et al.
2005)
• Greater activity in mPFC in meditators
practicing mindfulness of breathing than in
non-meditators (Holzel et al. 2007)
A Hypothesis
• Two pathways including mPFC correspond to
different aspects of self? (Gusnard and Raichle 2001;
•
Schmitz and Johnson 2007)
• Activity in a dorsal network corresponds to selfreferential processing, both task-related and
introspective
• Activity in a ventral network corresponds the
integration of sensory and motor information
from the external and internal environments or
orienting to salient sensory information that is
determined to be self-relevant
• Neural correlates of “narrative self-focus” and
“experiential focus” investigated in meditators
and non-meditators using fMRI
• Only meditators displayed a neural signature that
was different depending on the mode of self
• These results may indicate that meditation trains
the ability to shift from self-as-content to self-ascontext
Farb, N. A. S., Segal, Z. V., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., Fatima, Z., et
al. (2007). Attending to the present: Mindfulness meditation reveals
distinct neural modes of self-reference. Social Cognitive and Affective
Neuroscience, 2, 313–322.
The mPFC and Empathy
• There is overlap in areas of mPFC that
correspond to self-relevant tasks and tasks
identifying the internal states of others
• This may point to neural correlates of
empathy and is consistent with our model if
those areas involved also correlate to the
observer self
• There are some conflicting data about the role
of mPFC and self processes
• Data such as Farb et al 2007 add depth to a
psychological analysis of the potent processes
targeted during meditation that lead to
beneficial effects
• Neural correlates of self-as-context and selfas-content lend validity to how we parse these
processes and that they are differentially
impacted by meditation practices
• Data such as these do not confirm that these
processes are “real”, or that the effects of
meditation are “real”, they simply provide
additional support for our theories or may
encourage us to adjust our theories
• From a contextual perspective, the “self”
cannot be found in the brain
• The “answer” to suffering and key to
psychological health do not exist in the brain,
yet neuroscience can help our cause
• There are some conflicting data about the role
of mPFC and self processes
• Perhaps more important than activity in
specific areas is the “global dynamic cerebral
state”