MIND-BODY CONNECTIONS, BODY AWARENESS, & MINDFULNESS
I received funding through a Mind and Life Institute Francisco J. Varela Research Award to develop and test a new experimental paradigm for measuring individual differences in subjective experience-physiology coherence (i.e., the within-individual association between self-reported subjective experience and measured physiological activity) and extend previous findings.
A NEW AND IMPROVED MEASUREMENT
I first developed an experimental paradigm that overcomes a number of limitations of the MIDUS paradigm, which was not designed specifically to measure individual differences in subjective experience-physiology coherence. For example, coherence assessment could be improved through a higher density of self-reports and additional physiological measures.
IS COHERENCE TIED TO BODY AWARENESS?
It is not yet known how accuracy in reporting physiological states (i.e., interoceptive accuracy, or body awareness) is associated with coherence (the association between physiology and more complex subjective experiential states). Is interoceptive accuracy a prerequisite for strong coherence, or can physiological activity and subjective experience track together without conscious recognition of the physiology itself? I'm examining whether interoceptive accuracy is tied to coherence (using a neat little arduino heart beat machine).
CAN COHERENCE BE TRAINED?
Contemplative practices that involve attending to internal process are likely to increase coherence by training the ability to recognize mental events such as thoughts and feelings. If recognition of mental but not physiological processes is more strongly tied to well-being relevant outcomes, it may inform which contemplative practices are better poised to alleviate suffering (i.e., practices which focus on awareness of mental states versus awareness of the body). I'm evaluating whether a brief mobile mindfulness intervention through a smart phone application leads to stronger associations between subjective experience and physiology.
