Neurophenomenological Investigation of Mindfulness Meditation "Cessation" Experiences Using EEG Network Analysis in an Intensively Sampled Adept Meditator.

Mindfulness meditation is a contemplative practice that is informed by Buddhism. It has been proven effective for improving mental and physical health in clinical and non-clinical contexts. To date, mainstream dialogue and scientific research on mindfulness has focused primarily on short-term mindfulness training and applications of mindfulness for reducing stress. Understanding advanced mindfulness practice has important implications for mental health and general wellbeing. According to Theravada Buddhist meditation, a "cessation" event is a dramatic experience of profound clarity and equanimity that involves a complete discontinuation in experience, and is evidence of mastery of mindfulness meditation. Thirty-seven cessation events were captured in a single intensively sampled advanced meditator (over 6,000 h of retreat mindfulness meditation training) while recording electroencephalography (EEG) in 29 sessions between November 12, 2019 and March 11, 2020. Functional connectivity and network integration were assessed from 40 s prior to cessations to 40 s after cessations. From 21 s prior to cessations there was a linear decrease in large-scale functional interactions at the whole-brain level in the alpha band. In the 40 s following cessations these interactions linearly returned to prior levels. No modulation of network integration was observed. The decrease in whole-brain functional connectivity was underlain by frontal to left temporal and to more posterior decreases in connectivity, while the increase was underlain by wide-spread increases in connectivity. These results provide neuroscientific evidence of large-scale modulation of brain activity related to cessation events that provides a foundation for future studies of advanced meditation.

Experiencing the Untouchable: A Method for Scientific Exploration and Haptic Fruition of Artworks Microsurface Based on Optical Scanning Profilometry.

The experience of an object derives not only from the sight but also from the touch: a tactile exploration can reveal the smallest information trapped within the surface up to our tactile detective threshold. Starting from the importance of this observation in the case of works of art, this research demonstrates the use of conoscopic holography sensors for high-quality acquisition of the surface of artworks (up to the micro-scale) suitable also to 3D printing. The purpose is twofold, allowing for the tactile use of the artwork, which is otherwise impossible, for visually impaired people and for new use in regard to scientific information purposes. In detail, the workflow to obtain a 3D printed replica of multiscale and polychrome artworks suitable for the haptic fruition is validated, but the potential of the tool as an innovative resource for scientific visualization of the microsurface of the artwork for conservation issues is also demonstrated. The validation was performed on notable Italian masterpieces, such as Donatello's "Death Cristh" bronze relief in Padua and the Tintoretto painting "St. Martial in Glory with the Saints Peter and Paul" in Venice.

Frailty is associated with socioeconomic and lifestyle factors in community-dwelling older subjects.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study assessed the association between frailty and sociodemographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors in community-dwelling older people. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey in a population-based sample of 542 community-dwelling subjects aged 65 years and older living in a metropolitan area in Italy. Frailty was evaluated by means of the FRAIL scale proposed by the International Association of Nutrition and Aging. Basal and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL, IADL), physical activity, sociodemographic (age, gender, marital status and cohabitation), socioeconomic (education, economic conditions and occupational status) and lifestyle domains (cultural and technological fruition and social activation) were assessed through specific validated tools. Statistical analysis was performed through multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: Impairments in ADL and IADL were significantly associated with frailty, while moderate and high physical activity were inversely associated with frailty. Moreover, regarding both socioeconomic variables and lifestyle factors, more disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions and low levels of cultural fruition were significantly associated with frailty. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, particularly cultural fruition, are associated with frailty independently from functional impairment and low physical activity. Cultural habits may therefore represent a new target of multimodal interventions against geriatric frailty.

Investigation of advanced mindfulness meditation "cessation" experiences using EEG spectral analysis in an intensively sampled case study.

Mindfulness meditation is a contemplative practice informed by Buddhism that targets the development of present-focused awareness and non-judgment of experience. Interest in mindfulness is burgeoning, and it has been shown to be effective in improving mental and physical health in clinical and non-clinical contexts. In this report, for the first time, we used electroencephalography (EEG) combined with a neurophenomenological approach to examine the neural signature of "cessation" events, which are dramatic experiences of complete discontinuation in awareness similar to the loss of consciousness, which are reported to be experienced by very experienced meditators, and are proposed to be evidence of mastery of mindfulness meditation. We intensively sampled these cessations as experienced by a single advanced meditator (with over 23,000 h of meditation training) and analyzed 37 cessation events collected in 29 EEG sessions between November 12, 2019, and March 11, 2020. Spectral analyses of the EEG data surrounding cessations showed that these events were marked by a large-scale alpha-power decrease starting around 40 s before their onset, and that this alpha-power was lowest immediately following a cessation. Region-of-interest (ROI) based examination of this finding revealed that this alpha-suppression showed a linear decrease in the occipital and parietal regions of the brain during the pre-cessation time period. Additionally, there were modest increases in theta power for the central, parietal, and right temporal ROIs during the pre-cessation timeframe, whereas power in the Delta and Beta frequency bands were not significantly different surrounding cessations. By relating cessations to objective and intrinsic measures of brain activity (i.e., EEG power) that are related to consciousness and high-level psychological functioning, these results provide evidence for the ability of experienced meditators to voluntarily modulate their state of consciousness and lay the foundation for studying these unique states using a neuroscientific approach.

Cessations of consciousness in meditation: Advancing a scientific understanding of nirodha samapatti.

Absence of consciousness can occur due to a concussion, anesthetization, intoxication, epileptic seizure, or other fainting/syncope episode caused by lack of blood flow to the brain. However, some meditation practitioners also report that it is possible to undergo a total absence of consciousness during meditation, lasting up to 7 days, and that these "cessations" can be consistently induced. One form of extended cessation (i.e., nirodha samapatti) is thought to be different from sleep because practitioners are said to be completely impervious to external stimulation. That is, they cannot be 'woken up' from the cessation state as one might be from a dream. Cessations are also associated with the absence of any time experience or tiredness, and are said to involve a stiff rather than a relaxed body. Emergence from meditation-induced cessations is said to have profound effects on subsequent cognition and experience (e.g., resulting in a sudden sense of clarity, openness, and possibly insights). In this paper, we briefly outline the historical context for cessation events, present preliminary data from two labs, set a research agenda for their study, and provide an initial framework for understanding what meditation induced cessation may reveal about the mind and brain. We conclude by integrating these so-called nirodha and nirodha samapatti experiences-as they are known in classical Buddhism-into current cognitive-neurocomputational and active inference frameworks of meditation.

A obra-prima de cada um / Each ones masterpiece / La obra prima de cada uno

Este artigo parte de um breve comentário sobre a entrevista de Ivo Mesquita e, lançando mão de uma associação com o Projeto para uma psicologia científica, propõe reflexões sobre experiências de dor e satisfação.

This article is part of a short commentary on the interview with Ivo Mesquita and, from an association with the Project for a scientific psychology, proposes reflections on the experiences of pain and satisfaction.

Este artículo parte de un breve comentario sobre la entrevista de Ivo Mesquita, haciendo referencia a una asociación con el Proyecto para una psicología científica, propone reflexiones sobre las experiencias del dolor y de satisfacción.

O saber e a verdade na Psicanálise e na Universidade / Knowledge and truth in Psychoanalysis and in the University / El saber y la verdad en el Psicoanálisis y en la Universidad

O autor realiza uma discussão acerca da posição da psicanálise no âmbito da Universidade e em sua relação com a ciência. Para tanto, promove uma problematização sobre as relações históricas entre o saber e a verdade na estrutura desses discursos, apresentando uma argumentação que considera a função política do saber e da verdade na constituição do sujeito na modernidade. Para demonstrar a relação política e econômica entre ciência e capitalismo, de forma a fundamentar suas análises das apropriações que essas práticas e discursos realizam dessas categorias, articula proposições das obras de Lacan e Foucault, entendendo que essas análises históricas e genealógicas são necessárias para aprofundar o debate sobre as relações entre psicanálise, ciência e Universidade...

The author presents a discussion about the position of psychoanalysis within the university and its relationship to science. For that he promotes a questioning about the historical links between knowledge and truth in the structure of these speeches, presenting an argument that considers the political role of knowledge and truth in the constitution of the subject in modernity. To demonstrate the economic and political relationship between science and capitalism, in order to substantiate his analysis of the appropriations that these practices and discourses carry on these categories, he articulates propositions from the works of Lacan and Foucault, considering that these historical and genealogical analysis are necessary to deepen the debate on the relationship between psychoanalysis, science and academia...

El autor realiza una discusión acerca de la posición del psicoanálisis en el ámbito de la Universidad y en su relación con la ciencia. Para eso, promueve una problematización sobre las relaciones históricas entre el saber y la verdad en la estructura de esos discursos, presentando una argumentación que considera la función política del saber y de la verdad en la constitución del sujeto en la modernidad. Para demostrar la relación política y económica entre ciencia y capitalismo, de forma de fundamentar sus análisis de las apropiaciones que esas prácticas y discursos realizan de esas categorías, articula proposiciones de las obras de Lacan y Foucault, entendiendo que esos análisis históricos y genealógicos son necesarios para profundizar el debate sobre las relaciones entre psicoanálisis, ciencia y Universidad...

O saber e a verdade na Psicanálise e na Universidade / Knowledge and truth in Psychoanalysis and in the University / El saber y la verdad en el Psicoanálisis y en la Universidad

O autor realiza uma discussão acerca da posição da psicanálise no âmbito da Universidade e em sua relação com a ciência. Para tanto, promove uma problematização sobre as relações históricas entre o saber e a verdade na estrutura desses discursos, apresentando uma argumentação que considera a função política do saber e da verdade na constituição do sujeito na modernidade. Para demonstrar a relação política e econômica entre ciência e capitalismo, de forma a fundamentar suas análises das apropriações que essas práticas e discursos realizam dessas categorias, articula proposições das obras de Lacan e Foucault, entendendo que essas análises históricas e genealógicas são necessárias para aprofundar o debate sobre as relações entre psicanálise, ciência e Universidade.(AU)

The author presents a discussion about the position of psychoanalysis within the university and its relationship to science. For that he promotes a questioning about the historical links between knowledge and truth in the structure of these speeches, presenting an argument that considers the political role of knowledge and truth in the constitution of the subject in modernity. To demonstrate the economic and political relationship between science and capitalism, in order to substantiate his analysis of the appropriations that these practices and discourses carry on these categories, he articulates propositions from the works of Lacan and Foucault, considering that these historical and genealogical analysis are necessary to deepen the debate on the relationship between psychoanalysis, science and academia.(AU)

El autor realiza una discusión acerca de la posición del psicoanálisis en el ámbito de la Universidad y en su relación con la ciencia. Para eso, promueve una problematización sobre las relaciones históricas entre el saber y la verdad en la estructura de esos discursos, presentando una argumentación que considera la función política del saber y de la verdad en la constitución del sujeto en la modernidad. Para demostrar la relación política y económica entre ciencia y capitalismo, de forma de fundamentar sus análisis de las apropiaciones que esas prácticas y discursos realizan de esas categorías, articula proposiciones de las obras de Lacan y Foucault, entendiendo que esos análisis históricos y genealógicos son necesarios para profundizar el debate sobre las relaciones entre psicoanálisis, ciencia y Universidad.(AU)

Por que a droga? Considerações sobre a pulsão de morte e os fenômenos toxicômaníacos

Este trabalho tem como objetivo responder à questão: Pôr que a droga? Tema intrigante em suas diversas vertentes, o uso e o abuso de drogas, sejam elas substâncias químicas lícitas ou ilícitas, encontra-se estreitamente ligado à cultura contemporânea. A economia psíquica predominante na pós-modernidade é a do excesso. Gozar sem limites, ação substituindo a reflexão, a busca da relação direta com o objeto e não com seu representante, o imediatismo, a promessa de satisfação completa, são características do nosso tempo. Nesse contexto, a dor psíquica se manifesta de novas formas. Não se trata de novas estruturas, mas de estratégias de sobrevivência psíquica montadas sobre o sentimento de vazio, a falta vivenciada como ameaça e, não, como condição de desejar. As compulsões à repetição constituem a defesa predominante e as drogas são o seu exemplo mais dramático. Ao tentar apagar a divisão constitutiva do sujeito do inconsciente, o dependente químico rompe com o simbólico e em sua ânsia de "mais, ainda" preencher a falta, é dominado pela força da pulsão de morte. Ao longo de um percurso teórico-clínico, este trabalho tenta seguir as vicissitudes das relações entre os fenômenos toxicomaníacos e a pulsão de morte.

This paper attempts to answer the question: Why drugs? In the contemporaneity the psychical economy is that of excess. The individual searches the unlimited fruition, he substitutes the thinking for the action, he looks for a direct relation to the object instead of its representative. The satisfaction needs to be immediate and complete. In this context, there are new forms of pain. It doesn't mean new structures but new strategies of psychical survivance to cope with the feeling of emptiness. The predominant defenses are the repetition compulsions and the drugs are their most dramatic example. Throughout the theoretic and clinic course of this paper, we will follow the vicissitudes of the inter-relation between the toxicomanic phenomena and the death impulse.