Seeking research participants: What does your brain do while you meditate?
Volunteers wanted for research study on brain activity during meditation.
People who are beginners at meditation often struggle to follow the correct meditation technique and maintain their attention on an object because of being lost in distraction. This can make meditation difficult, frustrating, and time-consuming.
We are running a research study where we will provide live visual feedback of your brain activity as you meditate inside an MRI scanner. This study will help us understand if it is feasible to teach people to engage the desired brain state with the correct meditation technique.
We are looking for interested, healthy volunteers:
- aged 19-50 years,
- with beginner-level or no experience in meditation,
- with a genuine interest in learning meditation, and
- with no history of any clinically diagnosed neurological, psychiatric, or mental health conditions.
The study would involve two functional MRI sessions inside the MRI scanner on two consecutive days, and a few computerised assessments on separate days. Your total cumulative time commitment over the course of the study would be eight hours. During this time, you get an opportunity to learn or develop your meditation skill through guidance from meditators with experience, and also practice at home using an app.
You can also choose to receive a cute 3D printed brain model based off high-resolution images of your brain taken using the MRI scanner.
The results of this study will hopefully influence the future of meditation practice and research using advanced brain-based technology.
If interested, please contact Saampras Ganesan for further information.