Possible electrophysiological changes induced by the practice of prayer in Christian Orthodox tradition

The present study aims to highlight possible changes that the practice of prayer (in the Christian Orthodox Tradition)-PCOT-after a pattern of 30 minutes of daily practice, for 8 weeks-can induce in the electrical activity of the brain. The participants (n=33) were divided into two groups: Study Group (SG), n=16, with an average age of 39.2 years and Control Group (CG) n=17, with an average age of 38.6 years). The Study Group included Orthodox Christian faithful who do not pray daily, being trained in a 3-hour session on the psycho-emotional, behavioural and spiritual specifics of PCOT. No intervention was performed on the subjects of the Control Group. The study included, before and after the period of 8 weeks of daily practice of PCOT, EEG measurements according to a measurement protocol. Applying the Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed significant differences in median value in the case of SG subjects, pre/post-experience, in the alpha and gamma2 registers, but not in the beta and gamma1 registers. Further research and changes in the experimental design are needed so as to allow for more accurate assessments. Results are discussed in the context of similar studies, highlighting some specific limitations of studies that evaluate the physiological changes induced by spiritual/religious experiences, especially of those that use EEG, while also formulating some recommendations for increasing the methodological quality of future studies. …Vezi Studiu

Evaluation of possible psychometric changes induced by the practice of prayer in the Christian Orthodox tradition

The present study investigates the possible psychological changes in the sphere of stress/anxiety induced by the practice of prayer (in the Orthodox Christian Tradition)-POCT, after an individual practice of 30 minutes daily, for 8 weeks. Participants (n=34) were divided into two groups (Study Group, n=16, average age 39.2 years and Control Group n=17, average age 38.6 years). The subjects of the Study Group-faithful Orthodox Christians without the practice of daily prayer, were trained, in a 3-hour session, with a view to the psycho-emotional, cognitive, spiritual and behavioural peculiarities of POCT. No intervention was performed on subjects in the Control Group. Before and after the interval of 8 weeks of daily practice of OCT, 30 min, five psychometric instruments were applied….Vezi Studiu

Compassion vs. empathy. Necessary distinctions in approaching medical care

The incidence of the fatigue caused by medical care brings to attention the emotional reactions to suffering and their possible effects on caregivers. In this study, we shall discuss empathy and compassion. Linguistic analyses and psychological evaluations fail to differentiate between empathy and compassion. We shall therefore make an inventory of the contribution of neuroscientific studies that we consider important. We shall present some research and clinical studies that support the discrimination between compassion and empathy, at the psycho-behavioral level, in terms of vagal and cerebral patterns and in terms of the effects that these emotional states have at the psycho-emotional level. Unlike the interventions aimed at empathic training, cultivating compassion among caregivers produces beneficial effects, decreasing fatigue and increasing resilience. We believe that the differences found between compassion and empathy support the replacement of the phrase “compassion fatigue”, widely used today, with “empathic distress”. We consider the prophylactic and therapeutic capitalization of compassion in health care, by developing training programs to cultivate compassion for specialized staff for patients, to avoid fatigue (empathic distress) and to improve the emotional, humanistic dimension of the doctor-patient relationship, both urgent and necessary. …Vezi Studiu

Free will – an approach from the perspective of neuroscience

Free will designates the possibility of conscious and free choice of the subject, as well as his real possibility to act. The topic has a special medical and social relevance as it is directly connected to how the subject’s responsibility (moral, legal, medical) for his own actions are understood, but also the possibility (real or illusory) of intervention in his own life. Free will has received various philosophical, psychological, legal and interdisciplinary approaches in recent decades. In this article we shall inventory some results from the area of neuroscience that we consider relevant in the analysis of free will, research and clinical studies that highlight various effects caused by voluntary actions, consciously repeated by the subject. Some psychotherapeutic interventions, the process of awareness, learning, attention monitoring, visualization, some forms of meditation, and the changes that these practices produce in the processes of neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and epigenetics, in terms of health and quality of life are analyzed. Since these interventions involve the conscious participation of the subject and his voluntary action, we consider that the discussed results are relevant in the debate on free will. The study also highlights the importance of education and social knowledge, as well as the need to promote participatory prevention and therapy, involving the subject in increasing the quality of life and health, through public messages that emphasize the responsibility of each person for their own choices and actions and the impact they have on his life. …Vezi Studiu