小結

杏仁核是大腦壓力迴路中的一個關鍵節點，在練習正念減壓30個小時左右後就可以顯示出其活躍度降低。其他的正念訓練也表現出類似的益處。在研究中的一些發現間接地表明這些變化是有可能成為性格特質的：冥想者不但在明確地接受指導來觀察壓力時其杏仁核活躍度會降低，而且即使在日常狀態下其杏仁核活躍度也會比普通人低50%。在各項研究中，大腦對壓力反應的減輕不僅體現在接受測試人員進行腦部掃描過程中看到血腥圖片時，而且表現在更現實的挑戰中，比如在現場觀眾面前接受採訪這樣的特里爾社會應激測試。每天堅持多做一些冥想訓練可以減輕大腦對壓力的反應。經驗豐富的禪修者可以承受更高級別的痛苦，並且其大腦對壓力源的反應較小。練習三個月的冥想就可以提高情緒調節能力，而長期的冥想訓練可以使負責管理情緒的前額葉區域和負責壓力反應的杏仁核區域之間的功能連通性更強，這會使你在面對壓力時更加從容。經驗豐富的冥想者不論在什麼情況下都能平靜地面對壓力，讓我們覺得這是他們與生俱來的性格特質，其實這都是他們堅持長期冥想練習的結果。因此，堅持冥想訓練，不僅可以進一步提升你的情緒管理能力，而且會逐漸重塑你的性格。

[1] 語出聖阿巴·佐羅塞奧斯（St. Abba Dorotheus），引自：E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer, Early Fathers from the Philokalia (London: Faber ＆ Faber, 1971), p.161。

[2] Thomas Merton, “When the Shoe Fits,” The Way of Chuang Tzu (New York:New Directions, 2010), p.226.

[3] Bruce S. McEwen, “Allostasis and Allostatic Load,” Neuropsychoparmacology 22 (2000): 108-24.

[4] Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Some Reflections on the Origins of MBSR, Skillful Means,and the Trouble with Maps,” Contemporary Buddhism 12:1 (2011); doi:10.1080/14639947.2011.564844.

[5] Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Some Reflections on the Origins of MBSR, Skillful Means,and the Trouble with Maps,” Contemporary Buddhism 12:1 (2011); doi:10.1080/14639947.2011.564844.

[6] Philippe R. Goldin and James J. Gross, “Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder,”Emotion 10:1 (2010): 83-91; http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018441.

[7] Phillipe Goldin et al., “MBSR vs. Aerobic Exercise in Social Anxiety: fMRI of Emotion Regulation of Negative Self-Beliefs,” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Advance Access, published August 27, 2012; doi:10.1093/scan/nss054.

[8] Alan Wallace, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind(Somerville, Ma: Wisdom Publications, 2006). 想了解“正念”的各種含義，請參見：B. Alan Wallace, “A mindful Balance,” Tricycle (Spring 2008): 60。

[9] Gaelle Desbordes, “Effects of Mindful-Attention and Compassion Meditation Training on Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli in an Ordinary, Non Meditative State,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 6:292 (2012): 1-15;doi:10.399/fnhum.2012.00292.

[10] V. A. Taylor et al., “Impact of Mindfulness on the Neural Responses to Emotional Pictures in Experienced and Beginner Meditators,” NeuroImage 57:4 (2011): 1524-1533; doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.001.

[11] Tor D. Wager et al., “An fMRI-Based Neurologic Signature of Physical Pain,” NEJM 368:15 (Aprill 11, 2013): 1388-97.

[12] 例如，參見：James Austin, Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999)。

[13] Isshu Miura and Ruth Filler Sasaki, The Zen Koan (New York: Harcourt,Brace & World, 1965), p. xi.

[14] Joshua A. Grant et al., “A Non-Elaborative Mental Stance and Decoupling of Executive and Pain-Related Cortices Predicts Low Pain Sensitivity in Zen Meditators,” Pain 152 (2011): 150-56.

[15] A. Golkar, et al., “The Influence of Work-Related Chronic Stress on the Regulation of Emotion and on Functional Connectivity in the Brain,” PloS One 9:9 (2014): e104550.

[16] Stacey M. Schaefer et al., “Purpose in Life Predicts Better Emotional Recovery from Negative Stimuli,” PLoS One 8:11 (2013): e80329; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080329.

[17] Clifford Saron, “Training the Mind——The Shamatha Project,” in A. Fraser,ed., The Healing Power of Meditation (Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications,2013), pp. 45-65.

[18] Bajinder K. Sahdra et al., “Enhanced Response Inhibition During Intensive Meditation Training Predicts Improvements in Self-Reported Adaptive Socioemotional Functioning,” Emotion 11:2 (2011): 299-312.

[19] Margaret E. Kemeny et al., “Contemplative/Emotion Training Reduces Negative Emotional Behavior and Promotes Prosocial Responses,” Emotion 1:2 (2012): 338.

[20] Melissa A. Rosenkranz et al., “Reduced Stress and Inflammatory Responsiveness in Experienced Meditators Compared to a Matched Healthy Control Group,”Psychoneuroimmunology 68 (2016): 117-25. 長期冥想者都練習了至少三年的內觀禪修和至善冥想，每天至少練習30分鐘，並且進行了幾次深度禪修。每個經驗豐富的冥想者都與之匹配了一個年齡和性別一樣的非冥想志願者來創建一個比較組。他們還在實驗中的幾個關鍵點提供唾液樣本，以此揭示他們的皮質醇水平。這裡沒有主動控制組，有兩點原因。第一，當所採取的措施是基於生物學而不是自我報告的時候，結果就不太容易受到偏差的影響。第二，和克利福德三個月的課程一樣，在三年或更長的時間內，不可能創造一個類似9 000個小時冥想的主動控制。

[21] T. R. A. Karl et al., “Meditation Training Is Associated with Altered Amygdala Reactivity to Emotional Stimuli,” under review, 2017.

[22] 如果理查德以與其他大多數研究相同的方式分析數據，則不會出現這些差異。杏仁核反應的峰值在這些組中是相同的。然而，練習時間最長的冥想者的反應卻表現出最快的恢復速度。這可能是一個非黏性的神經回聲——對測試圖像產生適當的初始反應，但那種反應並不過多停留。