Contemplative Science

Empirical Papers and Reviews 

VandenBos, S.V., Pokorny, J.J., Skwara, A.C., Diaw, S. M., King, B. G., Zanesco, A. P., Majied, K., Saron, C. D. & Conklin, Q. A. (2025) Benefits and Challenges of Delivering Meditation Instruction Live Online: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic Regarding Accessibility and Connection. Mindfulness. 

Aichele, S., Sahdra, B. K., Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G., Bradsaw, E., Pokorny, J.J., Ferrer, E., Shaver, P., & Saron, C. D. (2024).  Long-term effects of intensive meditation: personality changes are maintained 7-years post-training. Journal of Positive Psychology. Online 1 Aug.

Conklin, Q.A., Patterson, C.E., King, B.G., Zanesco, A.P., Pokorny, J.J., Álvarez-López, M. J., Cosín-Tomás, M., Kaliman, P., Saron, C.D. (2023). Serum BDNF predicts increases in telomere length during a monthly residential meditation retreat. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity Integrative. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbii.2023.10002

​​King, B., Zanesco, A. P., Skwara, A. C., & Saron, C. D. (2023). Cultivating Concern for Others: Meditation Training and Motivated Engagement with Human Suffering. Journal of Experimental Psychology/General.  https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001431  
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Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G.,  Conklin, Q. A., & Saron, C. D. (2023). The Occurrence of Psychologically Profound, Meaningful, and Mystical Experiences during a Month-long Meditation Retreat. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02076-w
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Skwara, A.C., King, B.G., Zanesco, A.P. & Saron. (2022) Shifting Baselines: Longitudinal Reductions in EEG Beta Band Power Characterize Resting Brain Activity with Intensive Meditation. Mindfulness, 13(10), 2488-2506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01974-9
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​Álvarez-López, M. J., Cosín-Tomás, M., Conklin, Q.A., Shields, G.S., King, B.G., Zanesco, A.P., Kaliman, P., Saron, C.D. (2022). Changes in the expression of inflammatory and epigenetic-modulatory genes after an intensive meditation retreat. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendcrinology. June 23;11:100152. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100152.

Zanesco, A. P., Skwara, A. C., King, B. G., Powers, C., Wineberg, K., & Saron, C. D. (2021). Meditation training modulates brain electric microstates and felt states of awareness. Human Brain Mapping, 42(10), 3228–3252. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25430

​Shields, G. S., Skwara, A. C., King, B. G., Zanesco, A. P., Dhabhar, F. S., & Saron, C. D. (2020). Deconstructing the effects of concentration meditation practice on interference control: The roles of controlled attention and inflammatory activity. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 89, 256–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BBI.2020.06.034

Anthony P. Zanesco, Brandon G. King, Chivon Powers, Rosanna De Meo, Kezia Wineberg, Katherine A. MacLean, Clifford D. Saron. (2019). Modulation of Event-related Potentials of Visual Discrimination by Meditation Training and Sustained Attention. J Cogn Neuroscience; 31 (8): 1184–1204. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01419

King, B., Conklin, Q., Zanesco, A. P., & Saron, C. (2019). Residential Meditation Retreats: Their Role in Contemplative Practice and Significance for Psychological Research. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 238-244 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.021.  

Conklin, Q. A., Crosswell, A. D., Saron, C. D., & Epel, E. S. (2019). Meditation, stress processes, and telomere biology. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 92–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COPSYC.2018.11.009

Schmalzl, L., Powers, C., Zanesco, A. P., Yetz, N., Groessl, E. J., & Saron, C. D. (2018). The effect of movement-focused and breath-focused yoga practice on stress parameters and sustained attention: A randomized controlled pilot study. Consciousness and Cognition, 65, 109–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2018.07.012

Conklin, Q. A., King, B. G., Zanesco, A. P., Lin, J., Hamidi, A. B., Pokorny, J. J., Álvarez-López, M. J., Cosín-Tomás, M., Huang, C., Kaliman, P., Epel, E. S., & Saron, C. D. (2018). Insight meditation and telomere biology: The effects of intensive retreat and the moderating role of personality. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 70, 233–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.03.003

Van Dam, N. T., van Vugt, M. K., Vago, D. R., Schmalzl, L., Saron, C. D., Olendzki, A., Meissner, T., Lazar, S. W. Kerr, C. E., Gorchov, J., Fox, K. C. R., Field, B. A., Britton, W. B., Brefczynski-Lewis, J. A. & Meyer, D. E. (2018). Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 13(1), 36-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617709589. 

Pokorny, J. J., Norman, A., Zanesco, A. P., Bauer-Wu, S., Sahdra, B. K., & Saron, C. D. (2018). Network analysis for the visualization and analysis of qualitative data. Psychological Methods, 23(1), 169–183. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000129

Norman, A., & Pokorny, J. J. (2017). Meditation retreats: Spiritual tourism well-being interventions. Tourism Management Perspectives, 24, 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TMP.2017.07.012 

Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G., MacLean, K. A., Jacobs, T. L., Aichele, S. R., Wallace, B. A., Smallwood, J., Schooler, J. W., & Saron, C. D. (2016). Meditation training influences mind wandering and mindless reading. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 3(1), 12–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000082

Lutz, A., Jha, A. P., Dunne, J. D., & Saron, C. D. (2015). Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. The American psychologist, 70(7), 632–658. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039585

Saggar, M., Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G., Bridwell, D. A., MacLean, K. A., Aichele, S. R., Jacobs, T. L., Wallace, B. A., Saron, C. D., & Miikkulainen, R. (2015). Mean-field thalamocortical modeling of longitudinal EEG acquired during intensive meditation training. NeuroImage, 114, 88–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.073

Rosenberg, E. L., Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G., Aichele, S. R., Jacobs, T. L., Bridwell, D. A., MacLean, K. A., Shaver, P. R., Ferrer, E., Sahdra, B. K., Lavy, S., Wallace, B. A., & Saron, C. D. (2015). Intensive meditation training influences emotional responses to suffering. Emotion, 15(6), 775–790. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000080

MacCoon, D. G., MacLean, K. A., Davidson, R. J., Saron, C. D., & Lutz, A. (2014). No sustained attention differences in a longitudinal randomized trial comparing mindfulness based stress reduction versus active control. PloS one, 9(6), e97551. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097551

Garrison, K. A., Scheinost, D., Worhunsky, P. D., Elwafi, H. M., Thornhill, T. A., 4th, Thompson, E., Saron, C., Desbordes, G., Kober, H., Hampson, M., Gray, J. R., Constable, R. T., Papademetris, X., & Brewer, J. A. (2013). Real-time fMRI links subjective experience with brain activity during focused attention. NeuroImage, 81, 110–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.030

Jacobs, T. L., Shaver, P. R., Epel, E. S., Zanesco, A. P., Aichele, S. R., Bridwell, D. A., Rosenberg, E. L., King, B. G., Maclean, K. A., Sahdra, B. K., Kemeny, M. E., Ferrer, E., Wallace, B. A., & Saron, C. D. (2013). Self-reported mindfulness and cortisol during a Shamatha meditation retreat. Health psychology, 32(10), 1104–1109. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031362

Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G., Maclean, K. A., & Saron, C. D. (2013). Executive control and felt concentrative engagement following intensive meditation training. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 566. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00566

Saggar, M., King, B. G., Zanesco, A. P., Maclean, K. A., Aichele, S. R., Jacobs, T. L., Bridwell, D. A., Shaver, P. R., Rosenberg, E. L., Sahdra, B. K., Ferrer, E., Tang, A. C., Mangun, G. R., Wallace, B. A., Miikkulainen, R., & Saron, C. D. (2012). Intensive training induces longitudinal changes in meditation state-related EEG oscillatory activity. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 6, 256. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00256

Jacobs, T. L., Epel, E. S., Lin, J., Blackburn, E. H., Wolkowitz, O. M., Bridwell, D. A., Zanesco, A. P., Aichele, S. R., Sahdra, B. K., MacLean, K. A., King, B. G., Shaver, P. R., Rosenberg, E. L., Ferrer, E., Wallace, B. A., & Saron, C. D. (2011). Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(5), 664–681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.09.010

Sahdra, B. K., MacLean, K. A., Ferrer, E., Shaver, P. R., Rosenberg, E. L., Jacobs, T. L., Zanesco, A. P., King, B. G., Aichele, S. R., Bridwell, D. A., Mangun, G. R., Lavy, S., Wallace, B. A., & Saron, C. D. (2011). Enhanced response inhibition during intensive meditation training predicts improvements in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 11(2), 299–312. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022764

MacLean, K. A., Ferrer, E., Aichele, S. R., Bridwell, D. A., Zanesco, A. P., Jacobs, T. L., King, B. G., Rosenberg, E. L., Sahdra, B. K., Shaver, P. R., Wallace, B. A., Mangun, G. R., & Saron, C. D. (2010). Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological science, 21(6), 829–839. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610371339

​Shaver, P. R., Lavy, S., Saron, C. D., & Mikulincer, M. (2007). Social foundations of the capacity for mindfulness: An attachment perspective. Psychological Inquiry, 18, 264- 271. https://doi.org/10.1080/10478400701598389

Book Chapters

Saron, C.D. (2022). Some Historical Reflections on Meditation, Healing, and Science. In: Healing: Life in Balance. Alice Pawlik and Mona Suhrbier, Weltkulturen Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Eds.  Bielefeld, DE: Kerber. SBN 978-3-7356-0872-7. Published 11/14/22. https://www.weltkulturenmuseum.de/de/ausstellungen/vorschau/?ausstellung=healing-leben-im-gleichgewicht
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Skwara AC, King BG, Saron CD: Studies of Training Compassion. In The Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science. Edited by Seppala EM, Simon-Thomas E, Brown SL, Worline MC, Cameron CD, Doty JR. Oxford University Press; 2017.​

Saron, CD (2013). The Shamatha Project Adventure: A Personal Account of an Ambitious Meditation Study and its First Results. In: Compassion: Bridging Theory and Practice. T Singer and M Bolz (Eds). Munich, DE: Max Planck Society. Free eBook available here. 

Saron, CD (2013). Training the Mind—The Shamatha Project. In: The Healing Power of Meditation. Fraser, A (Editor). Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications 45-65. 

Houshmand, Z, Harrington, A, Saron, CD, & Davidson, RJ (2001). Training the mind: First steps in a cross-cultural collaboration in neuroscientific research. In: Visions of compassion - Western scientists and Tibetan Buddhists examine human nature. RJ Davidson & A Harrington (Eds). New York: Oxford University Press. 3-17. 

Saron, CD & Davidson, RJ (1997). The brain and emotions. In: Healing emotions: conversations with the Dalai Lama on mindfulness, emotions and health. D Goleman, Ed. Boston: Shambala, 67-88.