Authors: Khalsa, Sahib S.¹; Rudrauf, David¹; Damasio, Antonio R.²; Davidson, Richard J.³; Lutz, Antoine³; Tranel, Daniel¹

Source: Psychophysiology, Volume 45, Number 4, July 2008 , pp. 671-677(7)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Attention to internal body sensations is practiced in most meditation traditions. Many traditions state that this practice results in increased awareness of internal body sensations, but scientific studies evaluating this claim are lacking. We predicted that experienced meditators would display performance superior to that of nonmeditators on heartbeat detection, a standard noninvasive measure of resting interoceptive awareness. We compared two groups of meditators (Tibetan Buddhist and Kundalini) to an age- and body mass index-matched group of nonmeditators. Contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence that meditators were superior to nonmeditators in the heartbeat detection task, across several sessions and respiratory modulation conditions. Compared to nonmeditators, however, meditators consistently rated their interoceptive performance as superior and the difficulty of the task as easier. These results provide evidence against the notion that practicing attention to internal body sensations, a core feature of meditation, enhances the ability to sense the heartbeat at rest.

Keywords: Meditation; Interoception; Heartbeat detection; Awareness; Respiration

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00666.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA 2: Brain and Creativity Institute, Department of Psychology and Neurology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA 3: W. M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior, Waisman Center, and Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Publication date: 2008-07-01

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