Meditation alters perceptual rivalry in Tibetan Buddhist monks

Carter, O. L. and Presti, D. E. and Callistemon, C. and Ungerer, Y. and Liu, G. B. and Pettigrew, J. D. (2005) Meditation alters perceptual rivalry in Tibetan Buddhist monks. Current Biology, 15 (11). R412-R413. ISSN 0960-9822

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Abstract

Neuroscientific studies of the mind are likely to benefit from the insights and skills of Tibetan Buddhist monks who have practiced the historic tradition of meditative training over many years — a point made recently at a forum between a selection of Buddhist leaders and distinguished scientists. Perceptual rivalries, such as binocular rivalry and motion induced blindness, are being used to study the neural mechanisms underlying consciousness and attention, as they involve fluctuations in conscious awareness despite unchanging external stimulation. Tapping into the ability of Tibetan Buddhist monks to control the flow of items being attended to and accessing consciousness, we found that meditation alters the inherent fluctuations in conscious state associated with perceptual rivalry.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Author's version unavailable in electronic format.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Biological and Physical Sciences (Up to 30 Jun 2013)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Biological and Physical Sciences (Up to 30 Jun 2013)
Date Deposited:	11 Oct 2007 01:09
Last Modified:	28 Sep 2016 04:54
Uncontrolled Keywords:	meditation; consciousness; perceptual rivalry
Fields of Research (2008):	17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170112 Sensory Processes, Perception and Performance 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1702 Cognitive Sciences > 170205 Neurocognitive Patterns and Neural Networks 11 Medical and Health Sciences > 1113 Ophthalmology and Optometry > 111303 Vision Science
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Identification Number or DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2005.05.043
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/2552

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