Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an intensive 8-week program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn a scientist, author, and the creator of the world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Studies of MBSR have consistently found several key developments that demonstrate its effectiveness as a health-promoting activity. During this intensive program, some participants experience a newly found state of self-awareness. This is particularly helpful in helping recognize mind habit patterns that contribute to unhelpful thoughts and emotions. According to research done by Dr. Daniel Siegel, after taking the 8-week MBSR program participants were able to alter their brain function in a way that confirmed they could distinguish the “narrative chatter” creating the ability to develop discernment. This…

In this presentation, Dr. Garrison will discuss her research on mindfulness using methods in neuroimaging, neurofeedback, and digital health. She’ll present work on how mindfulness is represented in the brain. This includes insights on the link between the subjective experience of mindfulness and objective neuroimaging data, gained using neurofeedback. Next, she’ll discuss how mindfulness can be used to help individuals cope with craving. She will highlight how the first-person experience of craving can be linked to brain activation patterns to gain insight into craving and how to extinguish it using mindfulness interventions. Finally, she’ll describe studies delivering mindfulness interventions using digital health tools such as apps and wearables.

This two-hour presentation will explore the growing scientific terrain and integral nature of psilocybin-assisted therapy. Each speaker will present for approximately 30 minutes with dedicated moderation to allow for an integrated community discussion, including question and answers for the speakers. Dr. Presti will start off the panel presentation, covering the history and mycology of psychedelic mushrooms, their entry into contemporary society, the chemistry and neurobiology of psilocybin and psilocin, and wrap things up by briefly tying together psychedelics, contemplative practice, and the nature of mind and reality. Dr. Cahn will follow, giving an overview of the neurophysiological and neural circuit changes evoked by psilocybin and related tryptamine psychedelics. He will then transition to an overview of his studies with psilocybin and mindfulness practice in healthy normal volunteers investigating the changes…

In this interactive workshop neuroscientist Clifford Saron and cellist Barbara Bogatin will explore the intersection of contemplative practice, neuroscience, and music practice, three distinct yet intertwined disciplines. They will talk about how meditation can inform and complement whatever it is that we practice in our lives, and learn about aspects of brain function that help us understand neuroplasticity, as well as how we perceive and respond to music. Audience members will experience a performance of Bach Prelude in G major leading into a guided meditation. The great American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein said, “Music speaks when words cannot; it can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” Music has the power to connect people, to change our brains, to incite anger or make us calm, to heal our pain.…

This presentation will 1) Describe a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between mindfulness and mentalization (self-other understanding) 2) Explain how this framework underpins mentalizing imagery therapy (MIT); 3) Discuss acceptability of MIT for both English language (Latino and non-Latino) caregivers and Spanish language Latino caregivers; 4) Report clinical and neuroimaging evidence for the effects of MIT on (a) reducing depressive symptoms and stress and (b) improving mentalization and mindfulness in family caregivers; 5) Compare delivery modes of MIT via in-person, virtual and smartphone application approaches.

In this presentation, Dr. Siegel will examine the notion of “connection” and its correlation with mental health. When we feel disconnected from our inner life, we suffer; when we are disconnected relationally—from people and nature—we can become anxious, depressed, despondent.  What is this powerful “connection” actually made of, what is it, and how can we take the science of connection and inform the practice of psychotherapy? In many ways, the experience of a separate, solo-self may underly the many challenges we face, from racism and social injustice to environmental destruction. The field of mental health can play a pivotal role in how we help our human family move toward a new way of living on Earth by addressing the modern cultural excessive focus on individuality in the separate sense of…

This presentation will 1) Describe the physiological paths underlying the benefits of mindfulness training for patients with cardiovascular disease; 2) Summarize the currently proposed mechanistic models supporting the use of mindfulness training to promote cardiovascular health, and 3) Present novel insights on the possible effects of mindfulness training on important mediators (cognitive function, interoception) relevant for patients with CV disease with practical examples from research projects conducted by Dr. Salmoirago-Blotcher’s group.

Mindfulness meditation practices can be conceptualized as a set of attention-based, regulatory and self-inquiry training regimes cultivated for various ends, including the training of well-being and psychological health. In this presentation, Dr. Lutz will first review a model which conceptualizes mindfulness-related states and traits as a multidimensional phenomenal matrix that can readily be expressed into a neurocognitive framework. This phenomenal and neurocognitive matrix of mindfulness is presented as a heuristic to guide formulation of research hypotheses from both cognitive/behavioral and neuroscientific perspectives. Dr. Lutz will then discuss recent behavioral, physiologic, and neural results related to mindfulness practice and training from our groups and from collaborators. He will focus in particular on the role in these practices of meta-awareness and dereification. In the last part of the presentation, Dr. Lutz will…

In the second part of a three-part mini series on psychedelic assisted therapies in collaboration with the Institute of Integrative Health and Wellness (IIHW) Dr. Scott Shannon will explore how the psychedelic framework of relationship, music, set and setting can exploit the malleable effects of ketamine on consciousness. He will review his data about group ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for healthcare workers and his experience training a few hundred professionals in an experiential group model of KAP. Scott will compare and contrast ketamine to MDMA for the treatment of trauma and speculate about the spiritual benefits of this well-known agent. Dr. Elias Dakwar will discuss the results of his research investigating ketamine coupled with mindfulness training on use-related measures in cocaine- and alcohol-dependent volunteers, as well as discuss the broader significance of ketamine and non-ordinary experiences in…

In the first part of a three-part mini series on psychedelic assisted therapies in collaboration with the Institute of Integrative Health and Wellness (IIHW), researchers from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC) address the current scientific landscape of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, including the underlying mechanisms and treatment protocols.