Neuromodulation-assisted Ego-disengagement: The NEURO-EGO Study
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether brain stimulation technology can help people reach a meditative state quickly and easily without years of meditation training. The researchers want to see if this will help people distance themselves from their thoughts and feeling, and if this will lead to improvements in openness and wellbeing the same way meditation can. Participants will: * Complete questionnaires * Perform a guided meditation task (The Bell Task) * Wear a high density electrocochleography (hdEEG) cap * Undergo brain stimulation * Perform cognitive tasks
Description
This study is being done to evaluate the relative effectiveness of distinct types of non-invasive brain stimulation - NIBS (TES-TI and TES) on subjective ego disengagement and cortical activity in experienced meditators. Phase 1 (registered to this record) involves administering 2 distinct types of deep brain stimulation techniques to a small sample (N=12) of experienced meditators to determine which type of neuromodulation, when focused on disruption of posteromedial cortex (PMC) activity, most robustly facilitates positive ego-disengagement compared to sham; and to discern the region of the…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults, ages 18 to 80 of any identified gender * Medically healthy * English-speaking (able to provide consent and complete questionnaires) * Healthy adults with a consistent meditation practice * Citizen or legal resident Exclusion Criteria: * Any current or past history of neurological disorders or acquired neurological disease (e.g. stroke, traumatic brain injury), including intracranial lesions * Any current or past history of bipolar disorder and/or hypomania * Any current or past history of psychosis * History of head trauma resulting in prolonged loss of conscio…
Interventions
- DeviceTranscranial electrical stimulation (TES)
TES uses specific electrode arrangement patterns to selectively stimulate the brain. Participants will wear an hdEEG (high density electroencephalography) cap which will allow intermittent periods of stimulation from TES.
- DeviceTranscranial electrical stimulation with temporal interference (TES-TI)
TES-TI uses specific electrode arrangement patterns to selectively stimulate the brain. Participants will wear an hdEEG (high density electroencephalography) cap which will allow intermittent periods of stimulation from TES-TI.
- DeviceSham stimulation
TES-TI sham includes receiving stimulation from all electrodes at the same frequency. Sham TES will include administration of transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), random oscillating current. It will also include periods with no stimulation and a ramping up period followed by no stimulation.
Location
- University of WisconsinMadison, Wisconsin