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The mindful eye: Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements in meditators and non-meditators.
- Source :
-
Consciousness and cognition [Conscious Cogn] 2017 Feb; Vol. 48, pp. 66-75. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Nov 12. - Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Background: This study examined the effects of cultivated (i.e. developed through training) and dispositional (trait) mindfulness on smooth pursuit (SPEM) and antisaccade (AS) tasks known to engage the fronto-parietal network implicated in attentional and motion detection processes, and the fronto-striatal network implicated in cognitive control, respectively.<br />Methods: Sixty healthy men (19-59years), of whom 30 were experienced mindfulness practitioners and 30 meditation-naïve, underwent infrared oculographic assessment of SPEM and AS performance. Trait mindfulness was assessed using the self-report Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ).<br />Results: Meditators, relative to meditation-naïve individuals, made significantly fewer catch-up and anticipatory saccades during the SPEM task, and had significantly lower intra-individual variability in gain and spatial error during the AS task. No SPEM or AS measure correlated significantly with FFMQ scores in meditation-naïve individuals.<br />Conclusions: Cultivated, but not dispositional, mindfulness is associated with improved attention and sensorimotor control as indexed by SPEM and AS tasks.<br /> (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1090-2376
- Volume :
- 48
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Consciousness and cognition
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 27842243
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.008