Spirituality Activates the Brain Networks Underlying Other-Than-Self Attention By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Understanding the neural bases of spiritual experiences may help us better understand their roles in resilience and recovery from mental health and addictive disorders.” – Ephrat Livni Spirituality is defined as “one’s personal affirmation of and relationship to a […]
Improve the Brain for Better Emotions with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “meditation affects the brain. . . four regions of meditators’ brains associated with healthy brain function become more substantial, while one of the areas associated with undesirable behavior actually shrinks.” – Mindworks Mindfulness training has been shown to […]
Neurofeedback in Novice Meditators Can Alter Brain Activity like that Observed in Expert Meditators By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Modern researchers and practitioners are finding a possible new solution to these challenges by using EEG biofeedback to increase awareness of subtle states of consciousness and speed the learning process.” – Jeff Tarrant […]
Tai Chi Practice Changes the Brain Differently than Walking By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “tai chi appears to improve executive function—the ability to multitask, manage time, and make decisions—in people without any cognitive decline.” – Harvard Health The aging process involves a systematic progressive decline in every system in the body, […]
Improve Brain Systems Underlying Sustained Attention in Sixth Graders with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “research suggests that mindfulness meditation can increase awareness of our thoughts, or meta-cognitive awareness, as well as regulate emotion, enhance attention and reduce stress. These changes can also be detected in the brain.” – B. Grace Bullock Childhood is […]
Change the Brain with Mindfulness Apps By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Rather than treating the usage of smartphones and mindfulness as oxymorons, we should consider ways to use our smartphones as a tool to aid our mindfulness practices.” – Courtney Ackerman Mindfulness training has been shown through extensive research to be effective […]
Unique Brain Activity Registers Internal Attentional States During Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Your brain is actually shaped by your thoughts and your behaviors. . . meditation can help boost attention and keep the brain sharp. . . mindful breath awareness may improve attention and help curb impulsive behavior” – Grace Bullock There […]
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Procedure can Alter Meditation and its Effects on the Brain By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “The nature of the high noise levels present during fMRI makes total elimination of imager noise perceived by subjects impractical at this time.” – Michael Ravicz Meditation training has been shown to […]
Improve Physiological Symptoms Related to Anxiety in Remitted Depression with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Through mindfulness, individuals start to see their thoughts as less powerful. These distorted thoughts – such as “I always make mistakes” or “I’m a horrible person” – start to hold less weight. . . We ‘experience’ […]
Support Creativity with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “mindfulness meditation and other mindfulness practices enhance three essential skills necessary for creative problem solving. First, mindfulness switches on divergent thinking. In other words, meditation opens your mind to new ideas. Second, mindfulness practice improves attention and makes it easier to register the novelty and usefulness […]