The present study investigated the effects of meditative practices on the regulation of autonomic function. 74 subjects (38 women; 36 men) comprised from a range of experienced and non-experienced meditators, engaged in a series of psychophysiological tasks designed to generate specific autonomic states. Regression analyses revealed that experienced meditators, as predicted, displayed greater suppression of myocardial reactivity during a highly reflexive and stressful task. Meditative practice also predicted a rise in electrodermal activity during a relaxation task, contrary to expectations. These results support the concept that meditative practices may alter aspects of autonomic function. Further, these results inform an emerging mind-body paradigm and illustrate the potential consequences of meditative practices in specific disease states and prevention. / Ph. D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/27539 |
| Date | 20 May 2010 |
| Creators | Pardikes, Thomas James |
| Contributors | Psychology, Friedman, Bruce H., Harrison, David W., Bell, Martha Ann, Hoffman, Kurt A. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | Pardikes_TJ_D_2010.pdf |
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