Podcast Summary
Attention training: Despite various attempts, traditional brain training methods failed to provide sustained benefits to attentional functioning, leading Amishi Jha to explore mindfulness and meditation as potential solutions.
Amishi Jha, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor at the University of Miami, has dedicated her research to understanding the functions and vulnerabilities of the brain's attention system. She uses functional MRI, EEG, and behavioral measures to study attention and its relationship with mental training and mindfulness. Her personal and professional journeys intersected when she became intrigued by the power of attention as the "brain's boss," capable of modifying the entirety of brain function. She grew desperate to find ways to train attention, particularly after observing its failure under various perturbations in her lab. The 2000s saw a proliferation of brain training games and approaches, but Jha found that these methods failed to provide sustained benefits to attentional functioning. Despite attempts with technology and other methods, nothing seemed to effectively strengthen attention as a general resource. This frustration led Jha to explore mindfulness and meditation, both personally and professionally, in search of a more effective solution.
Meditation and Attention: Personal experience with divided attention led professor to explore meditation as a potential solution, leading to academic publication on its effects on attention in 2007.
The assistant professor's personal experience of struggling with divided attention led her to explore scientific research for potential solutions. During a talk by affective neuroscientist Richie Davidson, she learned that meditation could help improve focus and redirect the brain to positive states. Despite her initial skepticism due to cultural biases, she became curious and began practicing meditation, leading to a profound realization of its connection to her research on attention. This personal journey inspired her to secure a grant to explore the effects of mindfulness meditation on attention, marking the beginning of her academic publication on the topic in 2007.
Aspects of Attention: The ability to selectively focus and prioritize information (selective focus), be aware of the present moment (alerting), and align actions with goals (executive control) are the three main aspects of attention.
Attention, mindfulness, and consciousness are interconnected concepts that have evolved to help us navigate the vast amount of information in our environment. Attention, as a cognitive process, is the ability to selectively focus on certain information, prioritizing some experiences over others. It has three main aspects: selective focus, alerting, and executive control. Selective focus is the narrow, directed aspect of attention, allowing us to concentrate on specific content. Alerting, on the other hand, is the broad, receptive aspect, enabling us to be aware of the full spectrum of what's happening in the present moment. Executive control, or goal-related selection, ensures our actions align with our goals. Mindfulness practice can help enhance these aspects of attention by improving focus, increasing awareness, and promoting goal-directed behavior. The spotlight of our attention constantly shifts between focusing on specific objects or tasks and being aware of the wider field of experience. By understanding and practicing these aspects of attention, we can improve our ability to navigate the complex world around us.
Mindfulness practice: Mindfulness practice helps us to focus on the present moment, manage distractions, reduce stress, and improve overall well-being by inviting us to notice our thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment or elaboration
Mindfulness is a mental mode or capacity that allows us to pay purposeful, non-reactive attention to the present moment, both internally and externally. It's not an external addition to our experience, but rather an invitation to notice what we notice without judgment or elaboration. Mindfulness helps us to be more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations, and to respond to our environment in a more equanimous and open way. By training our minds to focus on the present moment, we can improve our ability to manage distractions, reduce stress, and increase our overall well-being. The flashlight metaphor is a useful way to understand this concept, as it illustrates how we can direct our attention to different aspects of our internal and external experiences, and how mindfulness practice can help us to maintain this focus even when external or internal distractions arise.
Mindfulness practice: Mindfulness practice helps us stay present by serving as an anchor to redirect attention back to the present moment, increasing awareness and reducing cognitive fusion.
Mindfulness practice is essential for keeping our mental focus on the present moment, as our minds naturally wander to the past or future. Mindfulness can be thought of as an MP3 player with the "play" button constantly on, allowing us to fully experience each moment. Before practicing mindfulness, we may view it as an added strategy to change our experience, but in reality, it's about reducing distraction and increasing awareness of thoughts as mere appearances in consciousness. The practice of mindfulness, such as focusing on the breath, serves as an anchor and a reminder to redirect our attention back to the present when our minds wander. This practice helps us recognize our true condition as observers of our thoughts and experiences, rather than being identified with them. By consistently practicing mindfulness, we can improve our ability to stay present and reduce cognitive fusion, or the feeling of being one with our thoughts.
Sensory domains in mindfulness practice: Focusing on specific sensory domains during mindfulness practice can strengthen the related brain areas and improve attention flexibility, but excessive focus might not necessarily lead to greater functionality or wisdom.
Focusing on a specific object of attention, such as the breath or sounds, during mindfulness practice can lead to different neurological effects, despite the core mindfulness qualities remaining the same. The brain areas connected to the chosen sensory domain will be strengthened with extended practice. However, varying the recipient of mindful orientation can also help maximize the flexibility and generalizability of attention strengthening. Over-focusing on a narrow aspect, like internal body states, could potentially increase sensitivity in that channel but not necessarily lead to greater functionality or wisdom.
Mindfulness balance: Mindfulness practice involves paying attention to various aspects of our experience, but it's essential to strike a balance and not get too fixated on any one area to avoid unnecessary distress and develop greater familiarity with our experience, ultimately gaining insights into the workings of the mind and bringing about positive changes in the brain.
While mindfulness practice involves paying attention to various aspects of our experience, it's important to strike a balance and not focus excessively on any one area, such as physical sensations in the gut, which could lead to unnecessary distress. Instead, we should cast our attention as widely as possible and remain equanimous towards all experiences. This approach allows us to develop greater familiarity with different aspects of our experience and ultimately, gain insights into the workings of the mind. Furthermore, research shows that mindfulness practice engages various brain networks, particularly the default mode network, which is associated with mind wandering and self-referential thinking. By training our attention through mindfulness practice, we can strengthen the connections within these networks and even bring about structural changes in the brain. This is the essence of brain training and neuroplasticity. In summary, mindfulness practice involves paying attention to various aspects of our experience, but it's essential to strike a balance and not get too fixated on any one area. By doing so, we can develop greater familiarity with our experience and bring about positive changes in the brain.