The DOI matches its Crossref record; 181 of the 189 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
From many to (n)one: Meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
How profoundly can humans change their own minds? In this paper we offer a unifying account of deconstructive meditation under the predictive processing view. We start from simple axioms. First, the brain makes predictions based on past experience, both phylogenetic and ontogenetic. Second, deconstructive meditation brings one closer to the here and now by disengaging anticipatory processes. We propose that practicing meditation therefore gradually reduces counterfactual temporally deep cognition, until all conceptual processing falls away, unveiling a state of pure awareness. Our account also places three main styles of meditation (focused attention, open monitoring, and non-dual) on a single continuum, where each technique relinquishes increasingly engrained habits of prediction, including the predicted self. This deconstruction can also permit certain insights by making the above processes available to introspection. Our framework is consistent with the state of empirical and (neuro)phenomenological evidence and illuminates the top-down plasticity of the predictive mind. Experimental rigor, neurophenomenology, and no-report paradigms are needed to further understanding of how meditation affects predictive processing and the self.
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“While there is empirical evidence that some advanced forms of meditation practice can also occasion ‘totally’ selfless states (Millière et al. 2018; Winter et al. 2020; Laukkonen and Slagter 2021), here I will focus on psychedelics as the most robust catalysts of selfless states.”
From Consciousness in active inference: Deep self-models, other minds, and the challenge of psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution (2021) · cites this paper as Laukkonen and Slagter 2021
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Pharmacological, neural, and psychological mechanisms underlying psychedelics: A critical review
van Elk, M., & Yaden, D. B. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104793 · Cited by 221
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Self-Boundary Dissolution in Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation
Nave, O., Trautwein, F., Ataria, Y., Dor‐Ziderman, Y., Schweitzer, Y., Fulder, S. J., & Berkovich‐Ohana, A. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci11060819 · Cited by 109
Tulver, K., Kaup, K., Laukkonen, R., & Aru, J. (2023) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2023.103494 · Cited by 86
Self-citationThe (In)flexible self: Psychopathology, mindfulness, and neuroscience
Giommi, F., Bauer, P. R., Berkovich‐Ohana, A., Barendregt, H. P., Brown, K. W., Gallagher, S., Nyklíček, I., Ostafin, B. D., Raffone, A., Slagter, H. A., et al. (2023) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100381 · Cited by 84
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Laukkonen, R. E., & Slagter, H. A.
- Affiliations
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Laukkonen, Ruben E.
- Slagter, Heleen A.
- Venue
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-09
- Volume
- 128
- Pages
- 199-217
- ISSN
- 0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3160885204
- Cited by
- 187
- References
- 189
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 8
- FWCI
- 3.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- European Research Council (679399)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Keywords
- meditation, predictive processing, predictive mind, anticipatory processing, self, focused attention, pure awareness, self-reflection, neurophenomenology, no-report paradigm
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Brain, Cognition, Humans, Phylogeny, Meditation
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