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Mindfulness and Neuroimaging

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Psychiatry and Neuroscience Update

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Abstract

The scientific community has recently begun to unveil the numerous changes that occur while one is meditating. The ability to measure functional activity in the brain by the signal produced by changes of blood oxygenation levels has become a useful tool in cognitive neuroscience. With functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers are able to identify associations between activation and/or deactivation of brain areas and different stimuli or responses during the performance of specific cognitive tasks or even at rest (default mode network). Structural magnetic resonance images reveal how much grey or white matter is present in different parts of the brain. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain may provide a window into the biochemical changes associated with neuronal integrity. Although these techniques are commonly known, in this chapter we will try to better explain the results provided by these neuroimaging techniques in relation to the effects produced in the brain by the practice of mindfulness.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroradiology, Quirón Hospital, Zaragoza, Spain

    Nicolás Fayed Ph.D.

  2. Facultat de Psicologia, Ciències de l’Educació i de l’Esport Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain

    Ignacio Cifre Ph.D.

  3. Research Institute for Health Sciences (IUNICS), University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Ignacio Cifre Ph.D.

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Miguel Servet Hospital, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    Javier Garcia-Campayo Ph.D.

  5. Preventative Activities and Health Promotion Network (REDIAPP), Zaragoza, Spain

    Laura Viguera M.D.

Authors
  1. Nicolás Fayed Ph.D.
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  2. Ignacio Cifre Ph.D.
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  3. Javier Garcia-Campayo Ph.D.
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  4. Laura Viguera M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolás Fayed Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Guaymallen Mendoza, Argentina

    Pascual Ángel Gargiulo

  2. Member of the Council of the Institute of Neurobiology (Buenos Aires); Member of the Board of Certification, National Academy of Medicine (Argentina), Psychiatrist by University Complutense of Madrid and University of Buenos Aires; Former Director of National Institute of Mental Health (Argentina), Cuyo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Humberto Luis Mesones Arroyo

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Fayed, N., Cifre, I., Garcia-Campayo, J., Viguera, L. (2015). Mindfulness and Neuroimaging. In: Gargiulo, P., Arroyo, H. (eds) Psychiatry and Neuroscience Update. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17103-6_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17103-6_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17102-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17103-6

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