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Regulatory effects of mindfulness meditation on attention and epilepsy: behavioral, clinical, and neuronal correlates (Attention Regulation)
Start date: Nov 1, 2010, End date: Oct 31, 2014 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Mindfulness meditation is a standard form of meditation that intends to enhance qualities of concentration and meta-cognitive monitoring. Mindfulness meditation has been adapted and routinely incorporated in the American and European healthcare systems for the purpose of stress reduction and emotion regulation, particularly among clinical populations with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and many other medical conditions. Although the clinical benefits of these interventions have been well documented, the neurobiological mechanisms by which meditation may produce such benefits are still not well understood. The principal investigator of this research project has pioneered the use of imaging methods to rigorously investigate these mechanisms during his postdoctoral work in the United States. Here, we propose to continue and extend this line of research in France, at INSERM U821. This project will investigate the mechanisms of mindfulness meditation within the experimental and methodological framework of cognitive neuroscience (study 1) and epilepsy research (study 2). This research project pertains both to basic and clinical neuroscience. In study 1, we aim at investigating, with attention task performance and magnetoencephalography (MEG), how training in attention control, as cultivated by mindfulness meditation, can improve the ability of novice meditators to monitor their performance during an error-awareness task. In study 2, we aim at investigating the training-related effects of mindfulness meditation on epileptic patient’s and their capacity to regulate attention and manage stress. Futhermore, we will examine the impact of these changes on the clinical and brain risk factors of seizure, as measured by scalp electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG) and salivary cortisol. This research grant will give the fellow the opportunity to further develop his clinical and experimental expertise in this field, and to facilitate his reintegration into a E
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