Mindfulness Neuroscience links

In order to get the correct science-related information for my illustrations of the anatomy of the brain, I did a lot of looking through articles both journalistic and science-based.  Many of them were technical and difficult to summarise here, but others were excellent in summarising the effects and benefits of mindfulness mediations.

"The Power of Meditation and How It Affects Our Brains" by buffersocial

This article is a straightforward, friendly-voiced explanation of the neuroscience behind the benefits of practising mindfulness meditation.  Example: "The overall difference is that our brains stop processing information as actively as they normally would.  We start to show a decrease in beta waves, which indicate that our brains are processing information, even after a single 20-minute meditation session if we've never tried it before."

Some screen shots (below) from the article of information I found really useful when creating diagrams of the brain for the app.

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"This is your brain on meditation" by Psychology Today

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The author describes the emotional part of the brain and the problem solving brain as The Assessment Centre and the Me Centre, which is a way I have not heard of before but I do like enough to borrow the  phrasing for my own stuff!  These terms make it easier for a person reading the neuroscientific information to comprehend what's going on in their heads during the process described. For example, x writes: "If you were to look at people's brains before they began a meditation practice, you would likely see strong neural connections within the Me Centre and between the Me Centre and the bodily sensation/fear centres of the brain…The Assessment Centre's connection to the Me Centre is relatively weak."

"How Meditation Can Physically Change Your Brain"

There's so much here I'm just going to post screen shots!

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References

Fig 1-3.  Cooper, B. 2013. buffer social website "The Power of Meditation and How It Affects Our Brains" [online] Available at: https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-meditation-affects-your-brain

[Accessed 04 March 2015]

Fig 4.  Gladding, R.  2013. Psychology Today website "This Is Your Brain on Meditation" [online] Available at:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/use-your-mind-change-your-brain/201305/is-your-brain-meditation

[Accessed 04 March 2015]

Fig 5-9. Morrice, Gavin. 2013. Thinkers Playground blog. "How Meditation Can Physically Change Your Brain." [online] Available at: http://thinkersplayground.com/how-meditation-can-physically-change-your-brain
[Accessed 05 March 2015]