Decentering the Self? Reduced Bias in Self- vs. Other-Related Processing in Long-Term Practitioners of Loving-Kindness Meditation
Frontiers in Psychology November 21, 2016 Fynn-Mathis Trautwein, José R. Naranjo, Stefan Schmidt 44 citations
Long-term practitioners of loving-kindness meditation show a reduced difference in brain responses to their own face versus a close other's face, measured by the P300 event-related potential. In 12 meditators and 12 matched controls, the typical pattern of a larger P300 for self than other was smaller in meditators at parietal brain sites. Among meditators, more meditation practice correlated with smaller self-other differences, and across both groups, smaller differences were linked to higher self-reported compassion. A brief loving-kindness meditation induction did not further alter this brain response. The findings suggest that extensive meditation practice may blur the neural distinction between self and other and is associated with greater compassion.