Mindfulness meditation and consciousness: An integrative neuroscientific perspective |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Oppenheimer Family Center for the Neurobiology of Stress at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;2. Department of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;3. Department of Physiology at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;4. Department of Psychiatry at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA;5. VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA;6. Pain and Interoception Network (PAIN) at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA;7. Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA |
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| Abstract: | Although mindfulness meditation has been practiced in the East for more than two millennia, Western scientific research and healthcare programs have only recently drawn their attention to it. Basically, the concept of mindfulness hinges on focusing on one’s own awareness at the present moment. In this review we analyze different hypotheses about the functioning and the cerebral correlates of mindfulness meditation. Since mindfulness is strictly associated with a particular state of consciousness, we also examine some of the most relevant theories that have been proposed as accounts of consciousness. Finally, we suggest that consciousness and mindfulness meditation can be integrated within a neuroscientific perspective, by identifying the brain areas which seem to play an essential role in both, namely the anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, insula and thalamus. |
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| Keywords: | Mindfulness meditation Consciousness Anterior cingulate cortex Posterior cingulate cortex Insula Thalamus |
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