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Related Concept Videos

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Somatosensation

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The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
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Altered states of consciousness represent significant deviations from one's normal mental state. These deviations can range from subtle changes in awareness to profound transformations in perception, thought processes, and sensory experiences. Altered states of consciousness can be triggered by various factors, including drug use, meditation, hypnosis, illness, or even intense fatigue.
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Synesthesia is a remarkable condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with synesthesia experience a blending or crossing of their senses, such as sight and sound, leading to cross-modal sensations. In this condition, the stimulation of one sense, such as hearing a number or musical note, triggers an experience of another sense, like sensing a specific color, taste, or smell. People...
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Sensation typically is the process by which the sensory receptors and sense organs detect stimuli from the internal and external environment and transmit this information to the central nervous system for processing.
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Extrasensory perception, or ESP, suggests the ability to perceive events beyond the conventional senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Parapsychologists, who research ESP and related psychic phenomena, categorize ESP into three main types: precognition, telepathy, and clairvoyance.
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A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator TAPS
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Enhanced tactile acuity through mental states.

Sebastian T Philipp1,2, Tobias Kalisch1, Thomas Wachtler2

  • 1Institute fur Neuroinformatics, Neural Plasticity Lab, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.

Scientific Reports
|August 28, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mental training through Zen meditation significantly improved tactile spatial discrimination. Just six hours of focused attention on the right index finger enhanced somatosensory perception, demonstrating the brain

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Mind-Body Medicine

Background:

  • Physical training enhances perception and neural plasticity.
  • The impact of purely mental interventions on sensory perception remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how a mental intervention, specifically Zen meditation, affects somatosensory perception.
  • To determine if focused mental activity can alter tactile spatial discrimination.

Main Methods:

  • A three-day Zen meditation program was implemented.
  • Participants engaged in mental-sensory focusing on their right index finger for a total of 6 hours.
  • Tactile spatial discrimination of the right index finger was assessed before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

  • A persistent improvement in tactile spatial discrimination of the right index finger was observed.
  • The enhancement in perception occurred after only 6 hours of mental-sensory focusing.
  • This suggests that focused mental states can induce neuroplastic changes.

Conclusions:

  • Mental training, like Zen meditation, can significantly enhance somatosensory perception.
  • Intrinsic brain activity generated by mental states can alter perception and behavior.
  • These findings highlight the potential of mindfulness practices for improving sensory processing.