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. 2008 Jul;45(4):671-7.
doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00666.x. Epub 2008 May 20.

Interoceptive awareness in experienced meditators

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Interoceptive awareness in experienced meditators

Sahib S Khalsa et al. Psychophysiology. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

Attention to internal body sensations is practiced in most meditation traditions. Many traditions state that this practice results in increased awareness of internal body sensations, but scientific studies evaluating this claim are lacking. We predicted that experienced meditators would display performance superior to that of nonmeditators on heartbeat detection, a standard noninvasive measure of resting interoceptive awareness. We compared two groups of meditators (Tibetan Buddhist and Kundalini) to an age- and body mass index-matched group of nonmeditators. Contrary to our prediction, we found no evidence that meditators were superior to nonmeditators in the heartbeat detection task, across several sessions and respiratory modulation conditions. Compared to nonmeditators, however, meditators consistently rated their interoceptive performance as superior and the difficulty of the task as easier. These results provide evidence against the notion that practicing attention to internal body sensations, a core feature of meditation, enhances the ability to sense the heartbeat at rest.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Heartbeat detection and pulse detection accuracy across each block for each group. HB1: heartbeat detection during normal breathing. HB2: heartbeat detection during Ujjai breathing. NM: nonmeditators. KM: Kundalini meditators. TB: Tibetan Buddhist meditators. Performance accuracy could range from 0 to π, with chance performance = π/2. Dotted line = chance, Error bars: SE.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean ratings of pulse and heartbeat detection accuracy across each block for each group. Accuracy ratings could range from 1 (very bad) to 5 (very good). NM: nonmeditators. KM: Kundalini meditators. TB: Tibetan Buddhist meditators. Error bars: SE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean ratings of pulse and heartbeat detection difficulty across each block for each group. Difficulty ratings could range from 1 (very hard) to 5 (very easy). NM: nonmeditators. KM: Kundalini meditators. TB: Tibetan Buddhist meditators. Error bars: SE.

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