Projects Overview 2023
Courageous Connection: Changing Perceptions and Reducing Bias by Building Mindful Awareness and Compassionate Relationships among Police and Black Community Members
Institution: Brown University, Crim Fitness, and Mindful Badge
Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Proulx
Co-Investigator(s): Erin Woo (Brown University)
Region: USA
Overview: This project aims to address the broken trust and violent encounters between police officers and Black community members in the United States, by developing mindfulness-based interventions for both police officers and Black community members.
Abstract:
This project aims to address the broken trust and violent encounters between police officers and Black community members in the United States, which are rooted in systemic racism and oppression. Building on previous work, the project focuses on developing mindfulness-based interventions for both police officers and Black community members. The goal is to shift perspectives and reduce implicit bias through mindfulness training, bringing the two groups together to share lived experiences, build community, and foster connections. By reducing implicit bias, the project aims to improve the health, mental well-being, safety, and quality of life for both groups and contribute to healing the nation as a whole. Additionally, the project aims to develop a flexible and effective mindfulness protocol that can be replicated in other communities. This includes capacity building of community leaders and resources to ensure the sustainability and expansion of the program beyond the project's duration.
Does Breathing Resistance Training Relax the Body and Calm the Mind?
Institution: The Regents of the University of California, UCLA
Principal Investigator: Paul Macey
Co-Investigator(s): Prabha Siddarth (UCLA)
Region: USA
Overview: This project aims to investigate the effects of five minutes of daily Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on mental and physical states and determine if these changes are sustained over time.
Abstract:
Inspiratory muscle training (IMT), originally developed to improve breathing capacity, has been found to lower blood pressure and improve overall well-being. The practice does not require extended periods of focus (unlike meditation) and takes only 5 minutes a day. This project will investigate the effects of IMT on mental and physical states, and determine if these changes are sustained over time. The study will have 150 participants randomly assigned to three groups: IMT, sham IMT, and engagement only (same weekly measures, with the same contact with the research team, but without the sham or active IMT training). Mental state will be measured using psychological well-being and body awareness assessments, while physical relaxation will be assessed through heart rate variability. Participants will engage in daily tracking and weekly surveys throughout the study. Secondary objectives include comparing IMT to sham IMT and evaluating within-group changes over time. The findings will contribute to understanding the effectiveness of IMT in expanding psychological well-being compared to sham IMT or engagement alone.
Examining the Impact of Heated Yoga on Rumination and Mindfulness
Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital
Principal Investigator: Maren Nyer
Co-Investigator(s): Louisa Sylvia (MGH)
Region: USA
Overview: This study will examine how doing yoga in a heated room can expand an individual's mindfulness and decrease rumination.
Study Description: Examining the Impact of Heated Yoga on Rumination and Mindfulness
Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of heated yoga on expanding one's perception box, specifically focusing on improvements in mindfulness and reduced rumination. The study will compare heated yoga to non-heated yoga, heat alone, and a no yoga/no heat control group. Previous research on heated yoga intervention for depression has shown promising results, including increased mindfulness and decreased rumination. The researchers aim to extend this work to a non-clinical sample experiencing distress but not meeting clinical criteria for depression. The heated yoga intervention will be conducted in a state-of-the-art heated dome, while the non-heated yoga group will follow a standardized protocol. The heat only group will be exposed to the same heat environment as the heated yoga group, and the control groups will receive health education materials. Eligible participants will be adults who do not regularly practice yoga or meditation but have low levels of mindfulness. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up using a secure data capture system.
Expanding the Perception Box Through Neuromodulation-Assisted Ego-Disengagement
Institution: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Principal Investigator: Giulio Tononi
Co-Investigator(s): Melanie Boly (University of Wisconsin)
Region: USA
Overview: Using meditation and noninvasive tools, this study will seek to help people open their minds and let go of their self-centered thoughts, allowing them to see things in a new and broader way.
Abstract:
This project aims to explore the concept of ego disengagement and its potential for promoting well-being and compassion. A closing or narrowing of everyone’s perception box, which depends on the wiring of the parts of our brain that underlie consciousness, is believed to contribute to suffering and insensitivity. By temporarily suspending the influence of the self and self-related thoughts, transformative experiences can occur. However, achieving ego disengagement typically requires extensive meditation training. The project proposes using a non-invasive electrical stimulation tool to modulate neural activity in areas responsible for self-awareness and facilitate ego disengagement. Basic meditation training will be paired with neuromodulation to induce ego disengagement in non-expert meditators and measure the resulting effects on openness and well-being. If successful, the research may lead to the development of a portable device that allows anyone to safely experience the therapeutic benefits of ego disengagement.
Activating Neuroplasticity to Enhance the Perception Box Expanding Effects of Psilocybin
Institution: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Principal Investigator: Charles Raison
Co-Investigator(s): Christopher Nicholas (University of Wisconsin), Steven Garlow (University of Wisconsin), Stephanie Jones (University of Wisconsin), and Paul Hutson (University of Wisconsin)
Region: USA
Overview: This study will seek to link the effects experienced during the psychedelic state, such as mystical experiences, to long-term changes in Perception Box-related areas.
Abstract:
This study will look to link the effects experienced during the psychedelic state, such as mystical experiences, to long-term changes in perception-related areas. The induction of neuroplastic processes during the psychedelic experience plays a crucial role in maintaining emotionally impactful and vivid memories over time, which can lead to lasting behavioral changes. To further enhance these effects, researchers will combine specific cues associated with the psychedelic experience with non-invasive transauricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), known for promoting neuroplasticity and enhancing the emotional impact of memories. The hypothesis is that adding taVNS to psilocybin, a psychedelic substance, will make transformative aspects of the experience more vivid and personally significant, thereby enhancing its potential to improve well-being. A study involving 100 healthy adults with sub-optimal well-being will receive a single dose of psilocybin and be randomly assigned to receive active taVNS, sham taVNS, or treatment as usual. Questionnaires, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and other assessments will be conducted to evaluate the memory and perception-related changes induced by the intervention.
Pointing Beyond the Pain Perception Box: Treating Chronic Pain by Modulating Phenomenological and Psycho-Physiological Indices of Self-Transcendence
Institution: University of Utah
Principal Investigator: Adam Hanley
Co-Investigator(s): Eric Garland (University of Utah), Justin Hudak (University of Utah), and Gary Donaldson (University of Utah)
Region: USA
Overview: This project will determine if mindfulness training designed to encourage self-transcendence can lead to long-term pain relief.
Abstract: Chronic pain is a significant, global health issue that is difficult to treat due to pain often becoming entangled in a patient's sense of self. Mindfulness-based interventions appear capable of helping individuals disentangle chronic pain from their sense of self through self-transcendent experiences. In fact, mindfulness practices that facilitate self-transcendence have been reported to lead to complete pain cessation. However, rigorous experimental research is needed to identify the most effective mindfulness instructions for helping chronic pain patients achieve self-transcendence. Direct pointing instruction, an ancient but understudied practice, shows promise in this regard by encouraging de-identification with self-specifying information and accessing a non-dual awareness. This project aims to compare the effectiveness of traditional mindful breathing instruction with mindful breathing + direct pointing instruction in 138 chronic pain patients. The hypothesis is that direct pointing instruction will enable patients to move beyond their pain perception box, dissociating their self-schemas from pain and disrupting the chronic experience of pain.
Neural and Psychological Evidence to Shift Mindsets from "Me" to "We" Using a Scalable Decentering Curriculum
Institution: University of Oregon
Principal Investigator: David McCormick
Co-Investigator(s): Elliot Berkman (University of Oregon) and Megan Lipsett (University of Oregon)
Region: USA
Overview: This project aims to develop an entry-level college course on positive psychology and neuroscience focused on transforming students' mindset from a self-centered perspective to one that emphasizes a collective and pro-social focus.
Abstract:
This project aims to develop an entry-level college course on positive psychology and neuroscience focused on cultivating a healthy and decentered mindset. The course will be refined through the use of psychological, linguistic, and neuroimaging measures to ensure its effectiveness. The goal is to transform students' mindset from a self-centered perspective to one that emphasizes a collective and pro-social focus. Once developed, all course materials will be made available to instructors worldwide to promote the teaching of a healthy and decentered mindset on a broader scale. The project recognizes the influence of our worldviews on our well-being, behaviors, and long-term health, and seeks to address the rise of psychopathology and social unrest by promoting stress-resilience, empathy, compassion, and prosocial perspectives through innovative experiential practice modules in the course.
The Role of Transformative Experiences and Brain Network Dynamics in Hedonic Response to Psychedelics: Paving the Way for Broader Utilization
Institution: University of Vienna
Principal Investigator: Julia Sophia Crone
Co-Investigator(s): Marie Spies (Medical University of Vienna) and Rupert Lanzenberger (Medical University of Vienna)
Region: Austria
Overview: This project aims to investigate whether the psychedelic experience is necessary for increased well-being and pleasure and how traits like openness affect this relationship.
Abstract:
Psilocybin, the active psychedelic substance in magic mushrooms thought to induce neuroplasticity, shows promise in treating anhedonia and depression by producing long-lasting mood improvements and transformative experiences. Computational approaches can quantify the underlying brain dynamics, which contribute to the therapeutic effects. However, the intense psychedelic experience poses challenges for widespread use. This project aims to investigate whether the psychedelic experience is necessary for increased well-being and pleasure, whether complex brain dynamics give rise to the experience of pleasure, and how this interaction is influenced by transformative experiences and traits like openness. Psilocybin will be administered with and without a substance to eliminate psychedelic effects, while fMRI will measure brain changes. The study in neurotypical and anhedonic populations seeks to identify crucial factors for effective psychedelic application, inform mechanisms of action, and expedite therapeutic interventions.
Exhaling the Past: A Comprehensive Neuropsychological Test of Breathwork as a Tool for Trauma Processing and Mental Well-Being
Institution: Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience
Principal Investigator: Martha Nari Havenith
Co-Investigator(s): Isabel Dziobek (Humboldt University Berlin) and Christopher Timmermann (Imperial College London)
Region: Germany
Overview: This study aims to explore the potential of circular breathwork as a tool for trauma processing. Our goal is to understand whether circular breathwork and psychedelic therapy share similar psychological and neuronal mechanisms in participants with a history of childhood trauma.
Abstract:
This study aims to explore the potential of circular breathwork as a tool for trauma processing, focusing on individuals with a history of childhood trauma. Circular breathwork is a body-centered approach that resembles the experiences reported in psychedelic therapy. The study will assess improvements in long-term well-being in naive participants with a history of childhood trauma - tracking well-being on the emotional, social, and neuronal level. Additionally, EEG signals will be recorded during circular breathwork and compared to the EEG signatures associated with psychedelic states. The goal is to understand whether circular breathwork and psychedelic therapy share similar psychological and neuronal mechanisms. If successful, this research can establish circular breathwork as a low-cost and accessible method for individuals and communities to unlock their human potential beyond the confines of trauma.
The Self, Unbound: Neurofeedback-Assisted Meditation for Eliciting Transformative Self-Dissolution Experiences
Institution: University of Haifa
Principal Investigator: Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
Co-Investigator(s): Pedro Mediano (Imperial College London), Fynn-Mathis Trautwein (University Medical Center Freiburg), Yair Dor-Ziderman (University of Haifa), and Fernando Rosas (University of Sussex)
Region: Israel
Overview: Utilizing meditation and neuro-imaging, this study seeks to better understand altered states of consciousness and the potential for promoting well-being.
Abstract:
This project aims to investigate the impact of meditation and psychedelics on self-dissolution and human thriving. It combines neuroimaging, neurofeedback, phenomenology, computational modeling, cognitive tasks, and self-reports. The project consists of five work-packages, including analyzing neuroimaging data to understand the effects of self-dissolution states, assessing the long-term impact on human thriving, developing a computational model of self-dissolution, implementing neurofeedback training, and testing its effectiveness in both expert meditators and the general population. The project utilizes measures such as beta spectral power, Lempel-Ziv complexity, and transfer-entropy to examine neural markers associated with self-dissolution. The goal is to uncover the neural correlates of self-dissolution, develop a computational model, and create an EEG-neurofeedback protocol that can be used in future applications. The project aims to contribute to our understanding of altered states of consciousness and their potential for promoting well-being.
Why Do We Feel That Way: Elucidating the Neural Mechanisms Underlying Emotion Perception and Enhancing a Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Intervention.
Institution: Cognitive Intelligence and Precision Healthcare Research Center at National Central University
Principal Investigator: Chi-Hung Juan
Co-Investigator(s): Cheng-Ta Li (National Central University) and Wei-Kuang Liang (National Central University)
Region: Taiwan
Overview: This project aims to investigate the nature of emotion consciousness and develop potential methods to benefit individuals with conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and autism.
Abstract:
This project aims to investigate the nature of emotion consciousness and to develop potential methods for neuromodulation in the context of recognizing emotions from facial expressions. The project consists of three stages: a behavioral and electroencephalogram (EEG) study to identify the dynamic neural connectivity involved in emotion perception, a noninvasive electrical brain stimulation (NIBS) study to examine the causal role of cortical involvement in emotion perception, and the development of an individualized NIBS protocol to reduce bias in emotion perception. The researchers will analyze EEG signals using Holo-Hilbert Spectral Analysis to uncover the dynamic interactions between brain regions and incorporate these findings into NIBS studies. The overall goal is to establish a comprehensive psychological and neural model of emotion perception, identify biomarkers of biased interpretation, and develop an EEG-guided NIBS system to assist individuals in modulating their emotion perception. The results of this project have the potential to benefit individuals with conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and autism by alleviating emotional symptoms and promoting appropriate emotional experiences.