Reduced Response to Stressful Events during Chanting Amitofo: A Combined fMRI and EEG Study

Abstract

Chanting Amitofo is one of the most popular Buddhism practices in Eastern Asia. This study aimed to investigate whether this practice can actually reduce the impact of stressful events in daily life. Methods: Fifteen participants with at least three years of chanting Amitofo practice were recruited in this study. Demographic and relevant questionnaires were used to measure their stress level and belief in Amitofo. The participant was asked to chant Amitofo, and then was shown stressful pictures and neutral pictures, both from IAPS during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. All participants did the same stress-paradigm using electroencephalogram (EEG) experiment. The results showed that chanting Amitofo additionally activated the prefrontal lobe and cerebellum as compared to chanting “Santa Claus.” This prefrontal activation level was related to the reduced neural response of the amygadala, anterior insula. Event-related potential study showed that chanting Amitofo might affect the late processing of the stressful picture.