Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness

By David R. Vago, David Silbersweig. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2012

1,216 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Mindfulness—as a state, trait, process, type of meditation, and intervention has proven to be beneficial across a diverse group of psychological disorders as well as for general stress reduction. Yet, there remains a lack of clarity in the operationalization of this construct, and underlying mechanisms. Here, we provide an integrative theoretical framework and systems-based neurobiological model that explains the mechanisms by which mindfulness reduces biases related to self-processing and creates a sustainable healthy mind. Mindfulness is described through systematic mental training that develops meta-awareness (self-awareness), an ability to effectively modulate one's behavior (self-regulation), and a positive relationship between self and other that transcends self-focused needs and increases prosocial characteristics (self-transcendence). This framework of self-awareness, -regulation, and -transcendence (S-ART) illustrates a method for becoming aware of the conditions that cause (and remove) distortions or biases. The development of S-ART through meditation is proposed to modulate self-specifying and narrative self-networks through an integrative fronto-parietal control network. Relevant perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral neuropsychological processes are highlighted as supporting mechanisms for S-ART, including intention and motivation, attention regulation, emotion regulation, extinction and reconsolidation, prosociality, non-attachment, and decentering. The S-ART framework and neurobiological model is based on our growing understanding of the mechanisms for neurocognition, empirical literature, and through dismantling the specific meditation practices thought to cultivate mindfulness. The proposed framework will inform future research in the contemplative sciences and target specific areas for development in the treatment of psychological disorders.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/acffcfd9d318643de8833c42ec543fa3893df2ab

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Citations in the corpus

The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience (2017, background): “…that one is an outside observer to one’s own self is sometimes referred to as “decentering” in the mindfulness literature (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Holzel et al., 2011; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012), allowing the meditation practitioner to reduce strong identification with thoughts and emotions.”
A Mindfulness-Based Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum for School-Aged Children: The MindUP Program (2016, neutral): “Nevertheless, there is theoretical and limited empirical support that mindfulness practices may affect HPA functioning (O’ Leary et al., 2015 ; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012 ), which, therefore, warrants its investigation in studies of MBIs.”
The Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory: Extensions, Applications, and Challenges at the Attention–Appraisal–Emotion Interface (2015, background): “With notable exceptions (e.g., Vago & Silbersweig, 2012), the field lacks empirically tractable, causal models that specify the therapeutic mechanisms of mindfulness and their downstream effects leading toward the cessation of suffering and the promotion of well-being.”
Examining Ways That a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Reduces Stress in Public School Teachers: a Mixed-Methods Study (2016, background): “, body scans, breath meditation, loving-kindness meditation) in which attention is focused intentionally and nonjudgmentally on present-moment somatic, mental, and social experience in the form of bodily sensations, feelings, mental images, and thoughts (see Lutz et al. 2007; Vago and Silbersweig 20”
The impact of mindfulness on the wellbeing and performance of educators: A systematic review of the empirical literature (2017, background): “…the breath), executive attention (e.g., preventing one's focus from “wandering”), attention switching (e.g., disengaging from distractions), selective attention and attention re-orienting (e.g., redirecting focus back to the target), and working memory (Lutz et al., 2008; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012).”
Investigating the Phenomenological Matrix of Mindfulness-related Practices from a Neurocognitive Perspective (2015, background): “…and analytical schemas from divergent subdisciplines, including contemplative theories (e.g., in the Abhidharma or Mahāmudrā; see details in Gethin, 1998 and Dunne, 2015), or clinical frameworks (e.g., MBSR), or neuroscientific models (e.g., Hölzel et al, 2011; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012).”
Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) (2016, background): “…interventions (e.g., emotion regulation, attention control, and selfawareness; Hölzel et al., 2011; Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, & Freedman, 2006; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012; Tang et al., 2015) by specifying the underlying components of mindfulness that interact to change these downstream…”
How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. (2015, background): “…regulation (e.g. Hölzel et al., 2011; Shapiro et al., 2006), bodily awareness (Hölzel et al., 2011), selfawareness, -regulation and -transcendence (Vago & Silbersweig, 2012) as key mechanisms which work alongside empirically-tested mechanisms, this review did not identify any studies which have…”
From a state to a trait: Trajectories of state mindfulness in meditation during intervention predict changes in trait mindfulness (2015, background): “…theories, and MBIs derived from them, posit that individuals can increase their propensity toward mindfulness in everyday life – i.e., trait mindfulness – by evoking the state of mindfulness repeatedly across meditation sessions (Garland et al., 2010; Davidson, 2010; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012).”
Mindfulness Revisited (2015, background): “…and neuroscientists have recently called for more clarity in operationalizing the construct of mindfulness by turning directly to the 2,500-year-old historical models that are rooted in the Buddhist tradition (Brazier, 2013; Davis & Thompson, 2014; Dreyfus, 2011a; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012).”
Enhancing attention through training (2015, background): “Recent meta-analyses of the behavioral effects of meditation [31], functional brain systems involved [32,33] and structural changes in brain gray and white matter [34 ] have been generally favorable to changes in behavior induced by various forms of meditation training.”
The willingness to consume organic food: A review (2021, background): “Vago and David (2012) argued that the valuation decisions are usually determined as a substance of awareness and are categorized into three main groups, namely; cognitive awareness, emotional awareness, and awareness regarding past conduct.”
Mind The Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation (2017, neutral): “…Bodhi, 2011; Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Grabovac, Lau, & Willett, 2011; Gunaratana, 2002; Hölzel et al., 2011; Malinowski, 2013; S. L. Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, & Freedman, 2006; Vago & Silbersweig, 2012), there continue to be considerable variations regarding the meaning of “mindful-ness.””