Mechanisms of Meditation

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is submitted in response to NOT-OD-09-058 "NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications". This supplement is intended to significantly expand the scope of our NCCAM-funded R01 Project entitled "Mechanisms of Meditation" (R01AT004698-01) by adding a completely novel methodology to assess whether different meditation practices have unique effects on naturalistic, real-world speech and behavior that is relevant to emotional well-being and positive psychosocial connectivity. This competitive supplement proposes an initial, but adequately powered, study to be completed in two years that addresses two inter-related priority areas of focus for NCCAM American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (RRA) funding, including: Novel and potentially richer secondary outcome measures Collection of additional data in ongoing clinical trials that will broaden the depth and/or scope of outcome measures. In keeping with NCCAM ARRA guidelines the bulk of requested funds will support new personnel for the project and/or will increase percent effort of key personnel to provide them salary support to devote time to the project expansion. As per guidelines, funding is also being requested for the purchase of computers and small equipment specifically required to conduct the competitive supplement protocol. In this supplement we propose to use the existing randomized, longitudinal, 3-group design of the Parent R01 to examine whether meditation affects real world, naturalistic speech and behavior in ways that-based on prior studies-would be expected to enhance emotional well being and health not just of the meditation practitioner but of other people in his or her social environment. In addition, a unique feature of the proposed project is that the Parent R01 design will allow for a comparison of two different meditation practices-compassion meditation and Mindful Attention Training (MAT)-in terms of effects on objective markers of individual emotional well-being and emotional stability, as well as on speech and behavior patterns known to promote positive psychosocial connectivity. In this regard, the current proposal may provide important new data on the potential of specific meditation techniques to improve public health via improved psychosocial functioning on the part of trained practitioners. Finally, this supplement will allow us to conduct the first ever examination of whether autonomic, neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to a standardized laboratory psychosocial stressor (Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]) are associated with naturalistic language use and real world behavior. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This supplement application will expand the scope of our NCCAM-funded project entitled "Mechanisms of Meditation" by adding a novel methodology to assess whether different meditation practices have unique effects on naturalistic, real-world speech and behavior that is relevant to emotional well-being and positive psychosocial connectivity. Funds requested will support new personnel for the project and will increase percent effort of key personnel to provide them salary support to devote time to the project expansion. This supplement proposes an initial study that addresses two inter-related priority areas of focus for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including the enrichment of the original proposal with enhanced secondary outcome measures, and collection of additional data in ongoing clinical trials that will broaden the depth and/or scope of outcome measures.