PLoS ONE
September 5, 2017
Ausiàs Cebolla, Marcelo Demarzo, Patricia Silveira Martins et al.
186 citations
About a quarter (25.4%) of meditation practitioners report unwanted effects (UEs), which are usually temporary and do not lead to stopping practice or seeking medical help. UEs are more common during focused attention meditation, when practicing alone for more than 20 minutes, and during individual practice; body awareness practices are associated with fewer UEs. The findings come from an online survey of 342 experienced meditators (at least two months of practice), mostly women from Spain with university education. The authors recommend using standardized questionnaires to better assess these effects in future research.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2023
Jaime Navarrete, Marta Fontana-Mcnally, Ariadna Colomer-Carbonell et al.
9 citations
The Spanish versions of the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) and the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) show adequate reliability and validity for measuring state mindfulness, though the SMS specific factors have poor reliability when controlling for the general factor. Data from six non-clinical Spanish samples (TMS n=119, SMS n=223) were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. The best-fitting model for the TMS was a correlated two-factor structure (curiosity and decentering). For the SMS, a bifactor structure (general factor, mindfulness of body, and mindfulness of mind) fit best. Both scales detected changes in state mindfulness after meditation practices. The patterns of correlations with measures of trait mindfulness, decentering, non-attachment, depression, anxiety, stress, affect, self-criticism, and self-reassurance were mostly as expected.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Tania Badia-Aguarón, Estíbaliz Royuela-Colomer, Vanessa Pera-Guardiola et al.
1 citation
A 5-month randomized controlled trial will test whether adding Mindfulness for Health, cognitive training using the NeuronUP® platform, or their combination to usual care improves outcomes for 120 children aged 7–12 with ADHD. The study will assess ADHD symptoms, executive functions, and comorbid symptoms before and after the interventions and at a 5-month follow-up. It will also explore whether mindfulness and emotional regulation mediate clinical outcomes and whether certain characteristics predict treatment response. This is the first test of the combined intervention and of cognitive training alone in this setting, aiming to lay groundwork for a larger definitive trial.
Human Psychopharmacology Clinical and Experimental
May 1, 2026
María Arqueros, J L Fayos Soler, Ausiàs Cebolla et al.
Ego dissolution, a temporary state of reduced self-referential processing and increased unity with the environment, can be modulated by both psychedelics like ayahuasca and contemplative practices like meditation. In a comparison of 37 ayahuasca users and 137 meditators, meditators scored significantly higher on the 'Delusion of Me' index, which measures acceptance, decentering, and non-attachment. While meditation practice showed a significant non-linear association with cumulative practice and higher scores, repeated ayahuasca exposure showed no evidence of a cumulative association with the index in this sample.
Virtual Reality
December 21, 2025
Joana Vidal, Catherine I. Andreu, Maja Wrzesien et al.
A single multi-person virtual reality experience can induce a state of selflessness—where the sense of self as the immediate subject of experience fades—and enhance interpersonal connectedness. It also increases low-arousal positive affect and warmth, and generates mystical and peak experiences in a notable subset of participants. The experience is widely accepted, with few adverse effects reported. This offers a cost-effective, non-pharmacological alternative to meditation and psychedelics for cultivating selflessness.