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Background: Mental problems are highly common among the general population. Mind-body interventions were found to be highly effective in treating them. The current study assessed the effect of Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) meditation on psychological parameters in a general population sample., Methods: Ninety-seven Participants enrolled in a 28-day workshop and completed a set of self-administered measures before and after the workshop. Outcome measures included Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomology-Self Report (QIDS-SR 16 ), Outcome Questionnaire OQ-45.2, The Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form (STAI), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) (State), Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)., Results: BDI scale decreased significantly before and after the intervention. QIDS scale improved significantly from T1 to T2 (p < 0.001). Outcome questionnaire decreased significantly at T2. Quality of life scores improved significantly between T1 and T2 (p < 0.001). Anxiety state and trait scores decreased significantly after the intervention (p < 0.001) All the subscales of anger decreased significantly after the intervention (p < 0.001).Subjective happiness improved significantly (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: IBSR meditation improved various psychological scales among a general population sample. Further controlled studies should evaluate the clinical implementation of IBSR among the general population., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: "The Work" is a meditative technique that enables the identification and investigation of thoughts that cause an individual stress and suffering. Its core is comprised of four questions and turnarounds that enable the participant to experience a different interpretation of reality. We assessed the effect of "The Work" meditation on quality of life and psychological symptoms in a non-clinical sample., Design: This study was designed as a single-group pilot clinical trial (open label). Participants (n = 197) enrolled in a nine-day training course ("The School for The Work") and completed a set of self-administered measures on three occasions: before the course (n = 197), after the course (n = 164), and six months after course completion (n = 102)., Outcome Measures: Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR16), Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ-45.2), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)., Results: A mixed models analysis revealed significant positive changes between baseline compared to the end of the intervention and six-month follow-up in all measures: BDI-II (t = 10.24, P < .0001), SHS (t = -9.07, P <.0001), QOLI (t = -5.69, P < .0001), QIDS-SR16 (t = 9.35, P < .0001), OQ-45.2 (t = 11.74, P < .0001), STAXI-2 (State) (t = 3.69, P = .0003), STAXI-2 (Trait) (t = 7.8, P < .0001), STAI (State) (t = 11.46, P < .0001), and STAI (Trait) (t = 10.75, P < .0001)., Conclusions: The promising results of this pilot study warrant randomized clinical trials to validate "The Work" meditation technique as an effective intervention for improvement in psychological state and quality of life in the general population., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Clinical examination of memory functions often includes the administration of simple free recall tasks, such as the recall of several words following a few minutes. Little is known, however, about the normative parameters or psychometric properties of such procedures, and such techniques have rarely been compared with more comprehensive, well-standardized memory indices. To address these issues, two three-word recall tasks were administered to a large group of carefully selected healthy subjects over the age of 50 years. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was obtained as an index of global cognitive status, and the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) was used to exclude subjects with abnormal memory abilities. Significant but modest relationships were found between two three-word recall tasks and CVLT results. Substantial variability was seen on three-word recall, with a significant proportion of normal subjects recalling zero or one word. Results suggest using caution in interpreting simple recall performance as an index of memory, as great variability in results is seen among healthy (particularly older) individuals.