Attentional task performance post meditation vs. focused attention.
Journal name: Ancient Science of Life
Original article title: Performance in attentional tasks following meditative focusing and focusing without meditation
The ANSCI is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal focused on Ayurveda and traditional medicines. It publishes original research, reviews, and literary studies linking traditional knowledge with modern science, covering disciplines like botany, ethnomedicine, pharmacology, and clinical research.
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Original source:
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B. R. Raghavendra, Shirley Telles
Ancient Science of Life:
(A quarterly multi-disciplinary scientific research journal in Ayurveda)
Full text available for: Performance in attentional tasks following meditative focusing and focusing without meditation
Year: 2012
Copyright (license): CC BY-NC-SA
Summary of article contents:
Introduction
Meditation has been recognized for its ability to improve awareness, attention, and cognition. It encompasses various practices categorized primarily into focused attention meditation (FA), open monitoring meditation (OM), and automatic self-transcending techniques. In the context of ancient Indian yoga philosophies, particularly outlined in Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras, meditation culminates in states of heightened focus and eventual transcendence termed as dhāraṇā (meditative focusing) and dhyāna (defocused meditative expansiveness). This study investigates the effects of two contrasting mental states—dhāraṇā and ekāgratā (focusing without meditation)—on attention performance as assessed through specific tasks.
The Impact of Meditative Focus
The research revealed that both dhāraṇā and ekāgratā significantly enhance attention, as evidenced by improvements in the d2 test of attention and the digit symbol substitution test. While participants displayed similar benefits in the d2 test scores after both types of focus, the digit symbol substitution test indicated superior performance following dhāraṇā. This suggests that meditative focusing not only aids in attention tasks but may also facilitate incidental learning—a cognitive process likely linked to greater relaxation and accuracy in visual scanning. The results imply that while both mental states foster attention improvement, meditative focusing may offer additional cognitive advantages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the findings illustrate that both dhāraṇā and ekāgratā can lead to enhancements in attention, although dhāraṇā appears to afford better incidental learning and accuracy in performance tasks. The study underscores the nuanced implications of meditative practices on cognitive functions, emphasizing that engaging in meditative focusing may yield additional benefits beyond mere attention enhancements. Future research could further explore the physiological underpinnings of these cognitive improvements, as well as the potential for integrating meditation into broader educational and cognitive training frameworks.
FAQ section (important questions/answers):
What was the purpose of the study on meditative focusing?
The study aimed to compare the effects of meditative focusing (dhāraṇā) and focusing without meditation (ekāgratā) on attention tasks such as the d2 test of attention and digit symbol substitution test in healthy male volunteers.
What were the key findings of the research?
Both types of focusing improved attention as measured by the d2 test. However, participants exhibited better performance in the digit symbol substitution test after meditative focusing (dhāraṇā), indicating enhanced incidental learning and accuracy.
How were the participants selected for the study?
Sixty normal healthy male volunteers aged 17 to 38 years were recruited. They were selected based on their normal health status and pre-existing meditation experience, ensuring that psychiatric or neurological disorders did not influence the outcome.
What tests were used to assess the participants' attention?
The d2 test of attention assessed selective attention and concentration, while the digit symbol substitution test measured sustained attention, response speed, and visuo-motor coordination. These tests provided comprehensive evaluations of the participants' attention capabilities after both focusing methods.
Other Science Concepts:
Discover the significance of concepts within the article: ‘Attentional task performance post meditation vs. focused attention.’. Further sources in the context of Science might help you critically compare this page with similair documents:
Dharana, Dhyana, Mental state, Patanjali's Yoga-sutra, Selective attention.