A. Lutz: Meditation and pain from the lenses of phenomenology and neurosciences

Colloquium Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy

Abstract

An early Buddhist account describes pain as being composed of two distinct “arrows”: an immediate physical sensation and an aversive dimension linked to negative mentation. It is claimed that although negative mentation often habitually follows awareness of unpleasant physical stimuli, this need not be necessarily so, as for individuals trained in mindfulness meditation, it is possible to uncouple sensory and affective pain dimensions, such that the physical component can be fully experienced without concomitant emotional distress. In this presentation, we will review  clinical and experimental studies which have investigated the phenomenology and cognitive and neural mechanisms of pain regulation in mindfulness meditation. From this literature, we will discuss the regulatory mechanisms by which mindfulness meditation could regulate affects.

Website of A. Lutz

https://tu-dresden.zoom.us/j/89825758552?pwd=S20rOGRHMjN3VUhEelRMSDVWbkk3dz09
​Meeting-ID: 898 2575 8552