{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"#84: The Brain of a Mental Olympian - Elena Antonova, PhD","description":"Dr. Elena Antonova is a neuroscientist and senior lecturer in psychology at Brunel University London. Her research focuses on the effects of long-term mindfulness meditation practice in the hope of promoting mental wellbeing in the general population. On this episode, we dive into the different approaches to meditation and the 4 levels of meditation practice development.&amp;nbsp; We also discuss what goes on in the brains of elite meditators and what it takes for the average person to reap the benefits from a meditation practice.&amp;nbsp; FitMind Neuroscience-Based App: http:\/\/bit.ly\/afitmind Website: www.fitmind.com Show Notes 0:00 | Introduction to Elena Antonova, PhD 4:28 | Categorizing Meditation Practices 7:15 | Why Breath Focus is Fundamental 10:19 | Constructivist vs. Innateist Approach to Meditation 12:08 | 4 Levels of Meditation Practice Development 17:12 | Mental Fitness Defined 20:19 | Brains of Mental Olympians 24:10 | Default Mode Network Differences 32:00 | Field of Awareness Described 35:45 | Habituation of the Attention System 46:45 | Eye Movement Paradigm Study 54:00 | Balancing Brain\u2019s Predictive Nature with the Present Moment 57:10 | Measurable Changes with Just 10 Minutes a Day 59:14 | Rapid Fire Questions ","author_name":"The FitMind Podcast: Mental Fitness, Neuroscience &amp; Psychology","author_url":"https:\/\/www.fitmind.org","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/21557480\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/21557480"}