Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Atchley, Rachel M.
Language:English
Published: Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK 2014
Subjects:
EEG
ERP
P50
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1401920790
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu14019207902021-08-03T06:25:18Z Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment Atchley, Rachel M. Neurosciences Psychology Mindfulness meditation inhibitory gating sensory processing EEG ERP P50 This project examined how the human brain responds to stress and how mindfulness meditation can reduce stress-related sensory processing deficits. An early brain function called inhibitory gating is impaired in various mental illnesses. Inhibitory gating promotes healthy cognitive function, as gating is theorized to play an important role in the pre-attentional stages of information filtering in the brain. Inhibitory gating is evaluated with electroencephalography (EEG), in which the electrical activity of neural networks is non-invasively assessed via electrodes placed on the scalp. Gating deficits can be induced in healthy people for a brief time with exposure to physical or mental stress, which allows for the gating impairments seen in mental illnesses to be modeled in healthy people. Mindfulness meditation training has been a benefit to patients in various therapeutic settings, but treatments for gating impairment remain unknown. It is essential to target this pervasive deficit for treatment. In the current study, mindfulness meditation was tested as a technique to reduce stress-induced gating impairment. Participants attended four meditation training sessions and underwent a cold-pressor stress task twice; once at the beginning and once at the end of the four appointment experiment. EEG recordings were taken before and after the stress task. The results of this experiment show that mindfulness meditation training can reduce stress-induced inhibitory gating impairment. Two control groups completed personality surveys or progressive muscle relaxation exercises and did not exhibit reduced impairment after four sessions. These findings are promising in that they contribute to the wider understanding of gating impairment and its relationship to stress, and expand on potential treatment options by introducing a safe, low-cost technique with potential to reduce inhibitory gating impairment. 2014-06-17 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1401920790 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1401920790 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Neurosciences
Psychology
Mindfulness
meditation
inhibitory gating
sensory processing
EEG
ERP
P50
spellingShingle Neurosciences
Psychology
Mindfulness
meditation
inhibitory gating
sensory processing
EEG
ERP
P50
Atchley, Rachel M.
Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment
author Atchley, Rachel M.
author_facet Atchley, Rachel M.
author_sort Atchley, Rachel M.
title Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment
title_short Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment
title_full Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment
title_fullStr Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment
title_full_unstemmed Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Stress-Related Inhibitory Gating Impairment
title_sort mindfulness meditation reduces stress-related inhibitory gating impairment
publisher Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2014
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1401920790
work_keys_str_mv AT atchleyrachelm mindfulnessmeditationreducesstressrelatedinhibitorygatingimpairment
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