Metta Meditation Training on Prosocial Behavior

Georgetown University

Status

Completed

Conditions

Social Behavior

Treatments

Behavioral: Metta meditation

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT03894930

2010-180

BCS-1729406 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to look at the impact of a metta meditation training on prosocial behavior and socio-affective brain responses. The training involves an 8-week, online administration of guided metta meditation practices aimed at generating feelings of kindness and compassion for other people. The study examines how participants respond to thinking about familiar others and strangers using behavioral and brain-imaging measures. This study will be important for understanding how people develop the capacity to be prosocial towards other individuals, which is a key component of adaptive social behavior.

Enrollment

67 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 55 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Is a medically healthy individual
Lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area and is able to travel to Georgetown University

Exclusion criteria

Has experience with meditation
Has any MRI contraindication (e.g. metal in the body, cardiac pacemaker, cannot lie still, etc.)
Has any neurological disease
Has a current psychiatric disorder
Is pregnant or planning to become pregnant
Is on medication that affects the central nervous system (e.g. psychotropic drugs)