fMRI Investigation of Meditation

描述(申请人提供)：以冥想和放松为基础 干预措施正变得越来越广泛地被临床环境接受和使用 部分原因是它们的低成本、低风险和被证明的有效性 对多种疾病进行补充性干预。修行冥想 诱发松弛反应，这是一套完整的生理反应 与压力反应相反的变化。尽管取得了成功，并且使用越来越多 基于松弛反应的治疗，很少有研究涉及基本的 这些治疗方法的作用机制。正如国家研究中心所说的 补充和替代医学？S五年战略规划，是吗 关键是严格评估广泛使用的CAM治疗并阐明 CAM模式的基本机制。本课程的主要目标是 科学家发展奖是使用功能磁共振成像来定义神经机制 在冥想状态下，将这种状态与三个控制区分开来 状态，然后确定冥想过程中特定的神经变化 调节自主神经功能。这些知识可能有助于识别新的 这种干预的医学应用，可能包括预防性的 干预措施。 计划进行一系列综合研究，目标如下：1) 确定在冥想期间活跃的大脑轨迹，并区分 从简单的休息或咒语般的控制状态激活的模式。2)定义 冥想对整体脑血流的影响及其鉴别 不受缓慢呼吸的影响。3)将fMRI、MEG和EEG数据集成到 创建高空间和时间分辨率的神经活动地图 冥想。确定神经活动的时间顺序 心肺事件，以确定调节自主神经功能的基因 冥想。 应聘者建议寻求以下方面的培训：1)生理学，包括 复杂生理信号的分析以及如何使用这些数据集来 询问功能磁共振数据2)功能成像的统计方法3)磁共振 成像和分析4)神经生物学和神经解剖学5)冥想和 松弛反应。

DESCRIPTION (Provided by applicant): Meditation and relaxation-based interventions are becoming more widely accepted and used in clinical settings in part because of their low cost, low risk and proven effectiveness as a complementary intervention in a wide range of diseases. Practice of meditation induces the relaxation response, which is a set of integrated physiologic changes opposite of the stress response. Despite the success and growing use of relaxation response based treatments, few studies have addressed the basic mechanism by which these treatments work. As stated in the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine?s Five- Year Strategic Plan, "is it crucial to rigorously evaluate widely-used CAM treatments" and to "elucidate basic mechanisms" of CAM modalities. The primary goal of this Mentored Scientist Development Award is to use fMRI to define the neural mechanisms underlying the meditative state, differentiate this state from three control states, and then determine how specific neurological changes during meditation modulate autonomic function. Such knowledge could be useful for identifying new medical applications for this intervention, including perhaps, preventative interventions. An integrated series of studies is planned with the following goals: 1) Identify brain loci that are active during meditation and differentiate the pattern of activation from simple rest or mantra-like control states. 2) Define the effects of meditation on global cerebral blood flow and differentiate these from the effects of slow breathing. 3) Integrate fMRI, MEG and EEG data to create high spatial and temporal resolution maps of neural activity during meditation. Determine temporal order of neural activity relative to cardiorespiratory events, to identify loci modulating autonomic function during meditation. The candidate proposes to seek training in: 1) Physiology, including the analysis of complex physiological signals and how to use these data sets to interrogate fMRI data 2) Statistical approaches to functional imaging 3) MR imaging and analysis 4) Neurobiology and neuroanatomy 5) Meditation and the relaxation response.