Are you ready for your mind to be blown? How about harvested?

Objectives Novice meditators often struggle to recognise and intentionally disengage from self-referential thought during meditation. We investigated whether personalised high-precision neurofeedback (NF) training improves volitional disengagement from self-referential thought during meditation and enhances meditation’s outcomes. Method In a single-blind, controlled study, novices received 2 days of veridical (n = 20) or sham (n = 20) 7-T fMRI NF targeting posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) deactivation during meditation. After NF training, at-home meditation practice was monitored for 1 week, followed by an in-lab behavioural assessment. Results Both groups reported similar perceptions of NF contingency, performance, and expectancy (p > 0.05), suggesting effective participant blinding. PCC deactivation during NF-guided meditation was comparable across groups (p > 0.05). Veridical NF group showed significantly stronger negative functional coupling (d = 0.59) between PCC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), significantly greater mindful awareness (d = 0.41) and emotional well-being (d = 0.40) associated with 1-week practice, and significant correlation (r = 0.71, p < 0.01) between emotional well-being and PCC-DLPFC negative coupling. Conclusions These findings suggest that high-precision NF can improve novices’ ability to volitionally disengage from self-referential thought during meditation, thereby fostering greater mindful awareness in real-world practice and promoting emotional well-being. Preregistration This exploratory study was not preregistered.

What is neurofeedback? And does it really work or is it just the latest fad in commercial neuroscience? Find out here.

A meta-analysis of 38 trials found neurofeedback has limited benefits for ADHD, showing small improvements in processing speed with standard protocols but no meaningful impact on core symptoms.

100 Fascinating Facts About Consciousness: Unraveling the Mystery of Life and Existence

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Basado en observar y modular nuestra actividad cerebral en tiempo real, este procedimiento se usa ampliamente para tratar distintos trastornos mentales o reducir el estrés. Pero ¿cuál es su verdadera ...