Meditation

A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation versus relaxation training: Effects on distress, positive states of mind, rumination, and distraction

Shamini Jain, Shauna L. Shapiro, Summer Swanick +4 more · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · 2007 · 1,289 citations

Both a one-month mindfulness meditation practice and somatic relaxation training significantly reduced distress and improved positive mood in students experiencing distress, but mindfulness uniquely reduced rumination and distraction, suggesting a specific mechanism for its benefits.

A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Clinical Trial: The Effect of a Mindfulness Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program on Mood and Symptoms of Stress in Cancer Outpatients

Michael Speca, Linda E. Carlson, Eileen Goodey +1 more · Psychosomatic Medicine · 2000 · 1,089 citations

A 7-week mindfulness meditation program significantly reduced overall mood disturbance by 65% and stress symptoms by 31% in cancer outpatients, suggesting it's a promising intervention to self-test for managing stress and improving mood.

Mobile Mindfulness Meditation: a Randomised Controlled Trial of the Effect of Two Popular Apps on Mental Health

Jayde A. M. Flett, Harlene Hayne, Benjamin C. Riordan +2 more · Mindfulness · 2018 · 338 citations

Improvements in Stress, Affect, and Irritability Following Brief Use of a Mindfulness-based Smartphone App: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Marcos Economides, Janis Martman, Megan Jones +1 more · Mindfulness · 2018 · 263 citations

Mindfulness training, which involves observing thoughts and feelings without judgment or reaction, has been shown to improve aspects of psychosocial well-being when delivered via in-person training programs such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Less is known about the efficacy of digital training mediums, such as smartphone apps, which are rapidly rising in popularity. In this study, novice meditators were randomly allocated to an introductory mindfulness meditation program or to a psychoeducational audiobook control featuring an introduction to the concepts of mindfulness and meditation. The interventions were delivered via the same mindfulness app, were matched across a range of criteria, and were presented to participants as well-being programs. Affect, irritability, and two distinct components of stress were measured immediately before and after each intervention in a cohort of healthy adults. While both interventions were effective at reducing stress associated with personal vulnerability, only the mindfulness intervention had a significant positive impact on irritability, affect, and stress resulting from external pressure (between group Cohen’s d = 0.44, 0.47, 0.45, respectively). These results suggest that brief mindfulness training has a beneficial impact on several aspects of psychosocial well-being, and that smartphone apps are an effective delivery medium for mindfulness training.

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of brief mindfulness meditation on anxiety symptoms and systolic blood pressure in Chinese nursing students

Yu Chen, Xueling Yang, Liyuan Wang +1 more · Nurse Education Today · 2012 · 187 citations

Mindfulness meditation training effects on CD4+ T lymphocytes in HIV-1 infected adults: A small randomized controlled trial

J. David Creswell, Héctor F. Myers, Steve W. Cole +1 more · Brain Behavior and Immunity · 2008 · 236 citations

Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation

Yi‐Yuan Tang, Yinghua Ma, Junhong Wang +8 more · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2007 · 1,571 citations

Recent studies suggest that months to years of intensive and systematic meditation training can improve attention. However, the lengthy training required has made it difficult to use random assignment of participants to conditions to confirm these findings. This article shows that a group randomly assigned to 5 days of meditation practice with the integrative body-mind training method shows significantly better attention and control of stress than a similarly chosen control group given relaxation training. The training method comes from traditional Chinese medicine and incorporates aspects of other meditation and mindfulness training. Compared with the control group, the experimental group of 40 undergraduate Chinese students given 5 days of 20-min integrative training showed greater improvement in conflict scores on the Attention Network Test, lower anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue, and higher vigor on the Profile of Mood States scale, a significant decrease in stress-related cortisol, and an increase in immunoreactivity. These results provide a convenient method for studying the influence of meditation training by using experimental and control methods similar to those used to test drugs or other interventions.

Interoception, contemplative practice, and health

Norman A. S. Farb, Jennifer Daubenmier, Cynthia Price +6 more · Frontiers in Psychology · 2015 · 613 citations

Interoception can be broadly defined as the sense of signals originating within the body. As such, interoception is critical for our sense of embodiment, motivation, and well-being. And yet, despite its importance, interoception remains poorly understood within modern science. This paper reviews interdisciplinary perspectives on interoception, with the goal of presenting a unified perspective from diverse fields such as neuroscience, clinical practice, and contemplative studies. It is hoped that this integrative effort will advance our understanding of how interoception determines well-being, and identify the central challenges to such understanding. To this end, we introduce an expanded taxonomy of interoceptive processes, arguing that many of these processes can be understood through an emerging predictive coding model for mind-body integration. The model, which describes the tension between expected and felt body sensation, parallels contemplative theories, and implicates interoception in a variety of affective and psychosomatic disorders. We conclude that maladaptive construal of bodily sensations may lie at the heart of many contemporary maladies, and that contemplative practices may attenuate these interpretative biases, restoring a person's sense of presence and agency in the world.

Effects of mindfulness meditation on trait mindfulness, perceived stress, emotion regulation, and quality of life in hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial

Hossam Alhawatmeh, Sami Alshammari, Jehad A. Rababah · International Journal of Nursing Sciences · 2022 · 48 citations

A 5-week program of 30-minute mindfulness meditation sessions, three times a week during hemodialysis, significantly improved trait mindfulness, reduced perceived stress, enhanced emotion regulation, and boosted quality of life in patients compared to a relaxed sitting control group.

Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness

David R. Vago, David Silbersweig · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2012 · 1,300 citations

Mindfulness-as a state, trait, process, type of meditation, and intervention has proven to be beneficial across a diverse group of psychological disorders as well as for general stress reduction. Yet, there remains a lack of clarity in the operationalization of this construct, and underlying mechanisms. Here, we provide an integrative theoretical framework and systems-based neurobiological model that explains the mechanisms by which mindfulness reduces biases related to self-processing and creates a sustainable healthy mind. Mindfulness is described through systematic mental training that develops meta-awareness (self-awareness), an ability to effectively modulate one's behavior (self-regulation), and a positive relationship between self and other that transcends self-focused needs and increases prosocial characteristics (self-transcendence). This framework of self-awareness, -regulation, and -transcendence (S-ART) illustrates a method for becoming aware of the conditions that cause (and remove) distortions or biases. The development of S-ART through meditation is proposed to modulate self-specifying and narrative self-networks through an integrative fronto-parietal control network. Relevant perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral neuropsychological processes are highlighted as supporting mechanisms for S-ART, including intention and motivation, attention regulation, emotion regulation, extinction and reconsolidation, prosociality, non-attachment, and decentering. The S-ART framework and neurobiological model is based on our growing understanding of the mechanisms for neurocognition, empirical literature, and through dismantling the specific meditation practices thought to cultivate mindfulness. The proposed framework will inform future research in the contemplative sciences and target specific areas for development in the treatment of psychological disorders.

Effect of compassion meditation on neuroendocrine, innate immune and behavioral responses to psychosocial stress

Thaddeus W. W. Pace, Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Daniel D. Adame +5 more · Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2008 · 747 citations

Potential self-regulatory mechanisms of yoga for psychological health

Tim Gard, Jessica J. Noggle, Crystal L. Park +2 more · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2014 · 464 citations

Research suggesting the beneficial effects of yoga on myriad aspects of psychological health has proliferated in recent years, yet there is currently no overarching framework by which to understand yoga's potential beneficial effects. Here we provide a theoretical framework and systems-based network model of yoga that focuses on integration of top-down and bottom-up forms of self-regulation. We begin by contextualizing yoga in historical and contemporary settings, and then detail how specific components of yoga practice may affect cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and autonomic output under stress through an emphasis on interoception and bottom-up input, resulting in physical and psychological health. The model describes yoga practice as a comprehensive skillset of synergistic process tools that facilitate bidirectional feedback and integration between high- and low-level brain networks, and afferent and re-afferent input from interoceptive processes (somatosensory, viscerosensory, chemosensory). From a predictive coding perspective we propose a shift to perceptual inference for stress modulation and optimal self-regulation. We describe how the processes that sub-serve self-regulation become more automatized and efficient over time and practice, requiring less effort to initiate when necessary and terminate more rapidly when no longer needed. To support our proposed model, we present the available evidence for yoga affecting self-regulatory pathways, integrating existing constructs from behavior theory and cognitive neuroscience with emerging yoga and meditation research. This paper is intended to guide future basic and clinical research, specifically targeting areas of development in the treatment of stress-mediated psychological disorders.

Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal

Melis Yilmaz Balban, Eric Neri, Manuela M. Kogon +7 more · Cell Reports Medicine · 2023 · 239 citations

Daily 5-minute breathwork exercises—especially cyclic sighing (prolonged exhalations)—improved mood and reduced physiological arousal more than an equivalent period of mindfulness meditation over one month, with the largest effects seen in respiratory rate reduction and self-reported anxiety.

Examining Practice Effects in a Randomized Controlled Trial: Daily Life Mindfulness Practice Predicts Stress Buffering Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Training

Andrew W. Manigault, Jeremiah Slutsky, Julianna Raye +1 more · Mindfulness · 2021 · 27 citations

Long-term concentrative meditation and cognitive performance among older adults

Ravi Prakash, Priyanka Rastogi, Indu Dubey +3 more · Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition · 2011 · 123 citations

Older adults who had practiced Vihangam Yoga meditation for more than 10 years scored better on tests of attention, memory, and executive function compared to matched non-meditators, suggesting that long-term concentrative meditation may help preserve cognitive abilities into old age — but because this was a cross-sectional study, it cannot prove meditation caused the difference.

Impact of short- and long-term mindfulness meditation training on amygdala reactivity to emotional stimuli

Tammi R. A. Kral, Brianna S. Schuyler, Jeanette A. Mumford +3 more · NeuroImage · 2018 · 315 citations

Meditate to Create: The Impact of Focused-Attention and Open-Monitoring Training on Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Lorenza S. Colzato, Ayça Öztürk, Bernhard Hommel · Frontiers in Psychology · 2012 · 385 citations

The practice of meditation has seen a tremendous increase in the western world since the 60s. Scientific interest in meditation has also significantly grown in the past years; however, so far, it has neglected the idea that different type of meditations may drive specific cognitive-control states. In this study we investigate the possible impact of meditation based on focused-attention (FA) and meditation based on open-monitoring (OM) on creativity tasks tapping into convergent and divergent thinking. We show that FA meditation and OM meditation exert specific effect on creativity. First, OM meditation induces a control state that promotes divergent thinking, a style of thinking that allows many new ideas of being generated. Second, FA meditation does not sustain convergent thinking, the process of generating one possible solution to a particular problem. We suggest that the enhancement of positive mood induced by meditating has boosted the effect in the first case and counteracted in the second case.

Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators

Julia C. Basso, Alexandra McHale-Matthews, Victoria Ende +2 more · Behavioural Brain Research · 2018 · 247 citations

Stress Reduction through Mindfulness Meditation

John A. Astin · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · 2010 · 627 citations

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effects of an 8-week stress reduction program based on training in mindfulness meditation. Previous research efforts suggesting this program may be beneficial in terms of reducing stress-related symptomatology and helping patients cope with chronic pain have been limited by a lack of adequate comparison control group. METHODS: Twenty-eight individuals who volunteered to participate in the present study were randomized into either an experimental group or a nonintervention control group. RESULTS: Following participation, experimental subjects, when compared with controls, evidenced significantly greater changes in terms of: (1) reductions in overall psychological symptomatology; (2) increase in overall domain-specific sense of control and utilization of an accepting or yielding mode of control in their lives, and (3) higher scores on a measure of spiritual experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The techniques of mindfulness meditation, with their emphasis on developing detached observation and awareness of the contents of consciousness, may represent a powerful cognitive behavioral coping strategy for transforming the ways in which we respond to life events. They may also have potential for relapse prevention in affective disorders.

Focused attention meditation training modifies neural activity and attention: longitudinal EEG data in non-meditators

Kazuki Yoshida, Kenta Takeda, Tetsuko Kasai +4 more · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · 2020 · 61 citations

Eight weeks of daily focused attention meditation (20 minutes per day) in non-meditators produced measurable changes in brain electrical activity (larger P3 amplitude) and faster reaction times on an attention task compared to a control group, providing direct evidence that short-term meditation training can improve attentional control in beginners.

Mindfulness Meditation May Lessen Anxiety, Promote Social Skills, and Improve Academic Performance Among Adolescents With Learning Disabilities

James Beauchemin, Tiffany Hutchins, Fiona M. Patterson · Complementary health practice review · 2007 · 434 citations

Students with learning disabilities (LD; defined by compromised academic performance) often have higher levels of anxiety, school-related stress, and less optimal social skills compared with their typically developing peers. Previous health research indicates that meditation and relaxation training may be effective in reducing anxiety and promoting social skills. This pilot study used a pre—post no-control design to examine feasibility of, attitudes toward, and outcomes of a 5-week mindfulness meditation intervention administered to 34 adolescents diagnosed with LD. Postintervention survey responses overwhelmingly expressed positive attitudes toward the program. All outcome measures showed significant improvement, with participants who completed the program demonstrating decreased state and trait anxiety, enhanced social skills, and improved academic performance. Although not directly assessed, the outcomes are consistent with a cognitive-interference model of learning disability and suggest that mindfulness meditation decreases anxiety and detrimental self-focus of attention, which, in turn, promotes social skills and academic outcomes.

Mindfulness training affects attention—Or is it attentional effort?

Christian Jensen, Signe Vangkilde, Vibe G. Frøkjær +1 more · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · 2011 · 286 citations

Improvements in attentional performance are at the core of proposed mechanisms for stress reduction in mindfulness meditation practices. However, this claim can be questioned because no previous studies have actively manipulated test effort in control groups and controlled for effects of stress reduction per se. In a blinded design, 48 young, healthy meditation novices were randomly assigned to a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), nonmindfulness stress reduction (NMSR), or inactive control group. At posttest, inactive controls were randomly split into nonincentive and incentive controls, the latter receiving a financial reward to improve attentional performance. Pre- and postintervention, 5 validated attention paradigms were employed along with self-report scales on mindfulness and perceived stress and saliva cortisol samples to measure physiological stress. Attentional effects of MBSR, NMSR, and the financial incentive were comparable or significantly larger in the incentive group on all reaction-time-based measures. However, selective attention in the MBSR group improved significantly more than in any other group. Similarly, only the MBSR intervention improved the threshold for conscious perception and visual working memory capacity. Furthermore, stress-reducing effects of MBSR were supported because those in the MBSR group showed significantly less perceived and physiological stress while increasing their mindfulness levels significantly. We argue that MBSR may contribute uniquely to attentional improvements but that further research focusing on non-reaction-time-based measures and outcomes less confounded by test effort is needed. Critically, our data demonstrate that previously observed improvements of attention after MBSR may be seriously confounded by test effort and nonmindfulness stress reduction.

Effects of Meditation Experience on Functional Connectivity of Distributed Brain Networks

Wendy Hasenkamp, Lawrence W. Barsalou · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2012 · 374 citations

This study sought to examine the effect of meditation experience on brain networks underlying cognitive actions employed during contemplative practice. In a previous study, we proposed a basic model of naturalistic cognitive fluctuations that occur during the practice of focused attention meditation. This model specifies four intervals in a cognitive cycle: mind wandering, awareness of mind wandering, shifting of attention, and sustained attention. Using subjective input from experienced practitioners during meditation, we identified activity in salience network regions during awareness of mind wandering and executive network regions during shifting and sustained attention. Brain regions associated with the default mode were active during mind wandering. In the present study, we reasoned that repeated activation of attentional brain networks over years of practice may induce lasting functional connectivity changes within relevant circuits. To investigate this possibility, we created seeds representing the networks that were active during the four phases of the earlier study, and examined functional connectivity during the resting state in the same participants. Connectivity maps were then contrasted between participants with high vs. low meditation experience. Participants with more meditation experience exhibited increased connectivity within attentional networks, as well as between attentional regions and medial frontal regions. These neural relationships may be involved in the development of cognitive skills, such as maintaining attention and disengaging from distraction, that are often reported with meditation practice. Furthermore, because altered connectivity of brain regions in experienced meditators was observed in a non-meditative (resting) state, this may represent a transference of cognitive abilities “off the cushion” into daily life.

Neural correlates of focused attention and cognitive monitoring in meditation

Antonietta Manna, Antonino Raffone, Mauro Gianni Perrucci +7 more · Brain Research Bulletin · 2010 · 282 citations

Short-term autonomic and cardiovascular effects of mindfulness body scan meditation

Blaine Ditto, Marie Eclache, Natalie Goldman · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · 2006 · 354 citations

BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program has positive effects on health, but little is known about the immediate physiological effects of different components of the program. PURPOSE: To examine the short-term autonomic and cardiovascular effects of one of the techniques employed in mindfulness meditation training, a basic body scan meditation. METHODS: In Study 1, 32 healthy young adults (23 women, 9 men) were assigned randomly to either a meditation, progressive muscular relaxation or wait-list control group. Each participated in two laboratory sessions 4 weeks apart in which they practiced their assigned technique. In Study 2, using a within-subjects design, 30 healthy young adults (15 women, 15 men) participated in two laboratory sessions in which they practiced meditation or listened to an audiotape of a popular novel in counterbalanced order. Heart rate, cardiac respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and blood pressure were measured in both studies. Additional measures derived from impedance cardiography were obtained in Study 2. RESULTS: In both studies, participants displayed significantly greater increases in RSA while meditating than while engaging in other relaxing activities. A significant decrease in cardiac pre-ejection period was observed while participants meditated in Study 2. This suggests that simultaneous increases in cardiac parasympathetic and sympathetic activity may explain the lack of an effect on heart rate. Female participants in Study 2 exhibited a significantly larger decrease in diastolic blood pressure during meditation than the novel, whereas men had greater increases in cardiac output during meditation compared to the novel. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate both similarities and differences in the physiological responses to body scan meditation and other relaxing activities.

The effect of focused attention and open monitoring meditation on attention network function in healthy volunteers

Ben Ainsworth, Rachael Eddershaw, Daniel Meron +2 more · Psychiatry Research · 2013 · 159 citations

Distinct Neural Activity Associated with Focused-Attention Meditation and Loving-Kindness Meditation

Tatia M.C. Lee, Mei-Kei Leung, Wai Kai Hou +5 more · PLoS ONE · 2012 · 157 citations

This study examined the dissociable neural effects of ānāpānasati (focused-attention meditation, FAM) and mettā (loving-kindness meditation, LKM) on BOLD signals during cognitive (continuous performance test, CPT) and affective (emotion-processing task, EPT, in which participants viewed affective pictures) processing. Twenty-two male Chinese expert meditators (11 FAM experts, 11 LKM experts) and 22 male Chinese novice meditators (11 FAM novices, 11 LKM novices) had their brain activity monitored by a 3T MRI scanner while performing the cognitive and affective tasks in both meditation and baseline states. We examined the interaction between state (meditation vs. baseline) and expertise (expert vs. novice) separately during LKM and FAM, using a conjunction approach to reveal common regions sensitive to the expert meditative state. Additionally, exclusive masking techniques revealed distinct interactions between state and group during LKM and FAM. Specifically, we demonstrated that the practice of FAM was associated with expertise-related behavioral improvements and neural activation differences in attention task performance. However, the effect of state LKM meditation did not carry over to attention task performance. On the other hand, both FAM and LKM practice appeared to affect the neural responses to affective pictures. For viewing sad faces, the regions activated for FAM practitioners were consistent with attention-related processing; whereas responses of LKM experts to sad pictures were more in line with differentiating emotional contagion from compassion/emotional regulation processes. Our findings provide the first report of distinct neural activity associated with forms of meditation during sustained attention and emotion processing.

Pilot Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation and Education for Dementia Caregivers

Barry Oken, Irina Fonareva, Mitchell Haas +4 more · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · 2010 · 227 citations

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether a mindfulness meditation intervention may be effective in caregivers of close relatives with dementia and to help refine the protocol for future larger trials. DESIGN: The design was a pilot randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation intervention adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program in relation to two comparison groups: an education class based on Powerful Tools for Caregivers serving as an active control group and a respite-only group serving as a pragmatic control. SETTINGS/LOCATION: This study was conducted at the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR. SUBJECTS: The subjects were community-dwelling caregivers aged 45-85 years of close relatives with dementia. INTERVENTIONS: The two active interventions lasted 7 weeks, and consisted of one 90-minute session per week along with at-home implementation of knowledge learned. The respite-only condition provided the same duration of respite care that was needed for the active interventions. OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects were assessed prior to randomization and again after completing classes at 8 weeks. The primary outcome measure was a self-rated measure of caregiver stress, the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC). Secondary outcome measures included mood, fatigue, self-efficacy, mindfulness, salivary cortisols, cytokines, and cognitive function. We also evaluated self-rated stress in the subjects' own environment, expectancy of improvement, and credibility of the interventions. RESULTS: There were 31 caregivers randomized and 28 completers. There was a significant effect on RMBPC by group covarying for baseline RMBPC, with both active interventions showing improvement compared with the respite-only group. Most of the secondary outcome measures were not significantly affected by the interventions. There was an intervention effect on the caregiver self-efficacy measure and on cognitive measures. Although mindfulness was not impacted by the intervention, there were significant correlations between mindfulness and self-rated mood and stress scores. CONCLUSIONS: Both mindfulness and education interventions decreased the self-rated caregiver stress compared to the respite-only control.

The effectiveness of a stress coping program based on mindfulness meditation on the stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by nursing students in Korea

Yune Sik Kang, So Young Choi, Eunjung Ryu · Nurse Education Today · 2009 · 272 citations

Influence of meditation on anti-correlated networks in the brain

Zoran Josipovic, Ilan Dinstein, Jochen Weber +1 more · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2012 · 161 citations

Human experiences can be broadly divided into those that are external and related to interaction with the environment, and experiences that are internal and self-related. The cerebral cortex appears to be divided into two corresponding systems: an "extrinsic" system composed of brain areas that respond more to external stimuli and tasks and an "intrinsic" system composed of brain areas that respond less to external stimuli and tasks. These two broad brain systems seem to compete with each other, such that their activity levels over time is usually anti-correlated, even when subjects are "at rest" and not performing any task. This study used meditation as an experimental manipulation to test whether this competition (anti-correlation) can be modulated by cognitive strategy. Participants either fixated without meditation (fixation), or engaged in non-dual awareness (NDA) or focused attention (FA) meditations. We computed inter-area correlations ("functional connectivity") between pairs of brain regions within each system, and between the entire extrinsic and intrinsic systems. Anti-correlation between extrinsic vs. intrinsic systems was stronger during FA meditation and weaker during NDA meditation in comparison to fixation (without mediation). However, correlation between areas within each system did not change across conditions. These results suggest that the anti-correlation found between extrinsic and intrinsic systems is not an immutable property of brain organization and that practicing different forms of meditation can modulate this gross functional organization in profoundly different ways.

The Effects of Different Stages of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Emotion Regulation

Qin Zhang, Zheng Wang, Xinqiang Wang +3 more · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2019 · 83 citations

This study examined mood enhancement effects from 4-week focusing attention (FA) meditation and 4-week open monitoring (OM) meditation in an 8-week mindfulness training program designed for ordinary individuals. Forty participants were randomly assigned to a training group or a control group. All participants were asked to perform cognitive tasks and subjective scale tests at three time points (pre-, mid-, and post-tests). Compared with the participants in the control group, the participants in the meditation training group showed significantly decreased anxiety, depression, and rumination scores; significantly increased mindfulness scores; and significantly reduced reaction times (RTs) in the incongruent condition for the Stroop task. The present study demonstrated that 8-week mindfulness meditation training could effectively enhance the level of mindfulness and improve emotional states. Moreover, FA meditation could partially improve individual levels of mindfulness and effectively improve mood, while OM meditation could further improve individual levels of mindfulness and maintain a positive mood.

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

Sam Harris · Simon and Schuster · 2014

This book argues that meditation and contemplative practices can produce genuine spiritual experiences and psychological benefits without requiring religious belief, drawing on neuroscience research and the author's personal practice — but it is not a scientific study, so its claims should be treated as hypotheses to test in your own self-experiments rather than established facts.

Differential effects on pain intensity and unpleasantness of two meditation practices.

D. Perlman, Tim V. Salomons, Richard J. Davidson +1 more · Emotion · 2010 · 201 citations

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that can be regulated by many different cognitive mechanisms. We compared the regulatory qualities of two different meditation practices during noxious thermal stimuli: Focused Attention, directed at a fixation cross away from the stimulation, which could regulate negative affect through a sensory gating mechanism; and Open Monitoring, which could regulate negative affect through a mechanism of nonjudgmental, nonreactive awareness of sensory experience. Here, we report behavioral data from a comparison between novice and long-term meditation practitioners (long-term meditators, LTMs) using these techniques. LTMs, compared to novices, had a significant reduction of self-reported unpleasantness, but not intensity, of painful stimuli while practicing Open Monitoring. No significant effects were found for FA. This finding illuminates the possible regulatory mechanism of meditation-based clinical interventions like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Implications are discussed in the broader context of training-induced changes in trait emotion regulation.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Prior Meditation Practice Modulates Performance and Strategy Use in Convergent- and Divergent-Thinking Problems

Lorenza S. Colzato, Ayca Szapora, Dominique P. Lippelt +1 more · Mindfulness · 2014 · 133 citations

No Sustained Attention Differences in a Longitudinal Randomized Trial Comparing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction versus Active Control

Donal G. MacCoon, Katherine A. MacLean, Richard J. Davidson +2 more · PLoS ONE · 2014 · 96 citations

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a secular form of meditation training. The vast majority of the extant literature investigating the health effects of mindfulness interventions relies on wait-list control comparisons. Previous studies have found that meditation training over several months is associated with improvements in cognitive control and attention. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a visual continuous performance task (CPT) to test the effects of eight weeks of mindfulness training on sustained attention by comparing MBSR to the Health Enhancement Program (HEP), a structurally equivalent, active control condition in a randomized, longitudinal design (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01301105) focusing on a non-clinical population typical of MBSR participants. Researchers were blind to group assignment. 63 community participants were randomized to either MBSR (n = 31) or HEP (n = 32). CPT analyses were conducted on 29 MBSR participants and 25 HEP participants. We predicted that MBSR would improve visual discrimination ability and sustained attention over time on the CPT compared to HEP, with more home practice associated with greater improvements. Our hypotheses were not confirmed but we did find some evidence for improved visual discrimination similar to effects in partial replication of other research. Our study had sufficient power to demonstrate that intervention groups do not differ in their improvement over time in sustained attention performance. One of our primary predictions concerning the effects of intervention on attentional fatigue was significant but not interpretable. CONCLUSIONS: Attentional sensitivity is not affected by mindfulness practice as taught in MBSR, but it is unclear whether mindfulness might positively affect another aspect of attention, vigilance. These results also highlight the relevant procedural modifications required by future research to correctly investigate the role of sustained attention in similar samples. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01301105.

Arousal vs. Relaxation: A Comparison of the Neurophysiological and Cognitive Correlates of Vajrayana and Theravada Meditative Practices

Ido Amihai, María Kozhevnikov · PLoS ONE · 2014 · 171 citations

Based on evidence of parasympathetic activation, early studies defined meditation as a relaxation response. Later research attempted to categorize meditation as either involving focused or distributed attentional systems. Neither of these hypotheses received strong empirical support, and most of the studies investigated Theravada style meditative practices. In this study, we compared neurophysiological (EEG, EKG) and cognitive correlates of meditative practices that are thought to utilize either focused or distributed attention, from both Theravada and Vajrayana traditions. The results of Study 1 show that both focused (Shamatha) and distributed (Vipassana) attention meditations of the Theravada tradition produced enhanced parasympathetic activation indicative of a relaxation response. In contrast, both focused (Deity) and distributed (Rig-pa) meditations of the Vajrayana tradition produced sympathetic activation, indicative of arousal. Additionally, the results of Study 2 demonstrated an immediate dramatic increase in performance on cognitive tasks following only Vajrayana styles of meditation, indicating enhanced phasic alertness due to arousal. Furthermore, our EEG results showed qualitatively different patterns of activation between Theravada and Vajrayana meditations, albeit highly similar activity between meditations within the same tradition. In conclusion, consistent with Tibetan scriptures that described Shamatha and Vipassana techniques as those that calm and relax the mind, and Vajrayana techniques as those that require 'an awake quality' of the mind, we show that Theravada and Vajrayana meditations are based on different neurophysiological mechanisms, which give rise to either a relaxation or arousal response. Hence, it may be more appropriate to categorize meditations in terms of relaxation vs. arousal, whereas classification methods that rely on the focused vs. distributed attention dichotomy may need to be reexamined.

Decreased electrophysiological activity represents the conscious state of emptiness in meditation

Thilo Hinterberger, Stephanie Schmidt, Tsutomu Kamei +1 more · Frontiers in Psychology · 2014 · 125 citations

Many neuroscientific theories explain consciousness with higher order information processing corresponding to an activation of specific brain areas and processes. In contrast, most forms of meditation ask for a down-regulation of certain mental processing activities while remaining fully conscious. To identify the physiological properties of conscious states with decreased mental and cognitive processing, the electrical brain activity (64 channels of EEG) of 50 participants of various meditation proficiencies was measured during distinct and idiosyncratic meditative tasks. The tasks comprised a wakeful "thoughtless emptiness (TE)," a "focused attention," and an "open monitoring" task asking for mindful presence in the moment and in the environment without attachment to distracting thoughts. Our analysis mainly focused on 30 highly experienced meditators with at least 5 years and 1000 h of meditation experience. Spectral EEG power comparisons of the TE state with the resting state or other forms of meditation showed decreased activities in specific frequency bands. In contrast to a focused attention task the TE task showed significant central and parietal gamma decreases (p < 0.05). Compared to open monitoring TE expressed decreased alpha and beta amplitudes, mainly in parietal areas (p < 0.01). TE presented significantly less delta (p < 0.001) and theta (p < 0.05) waves than a wakeful closed eyes resting condition. A group of participants with none or little meditation practice did not present those differences significantly. Our findings indicate that a conscious state of TE reached by experienced meditators is characterized by reduced high-frequency brain processing with simultaneous reduction of the low frequencies. This suggests that such a state of meditative conscious awareness might be different from higher cognitive and mentally focused states but also from states of sleep and drowsiness.

A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives

Jared R. Lindahl, Christopher T. Kaplan, Evan M. Winget +1 more · Frontiers in Psychology · 2014 · 122 citations

The scientific study of Buddhist meditation has proceeded without much attention to Buddhist literature that details the range of psychological and physiological changes thought to occur during meditation. This paper presents reports of various meditation-induced light experiences derived from American Buddhist practitioners. The reports of light experiences are classified into two main types: discrete lightforms and patterned or diffuse lights. Similar phenomena are well documented in traditional Buddhist texts but are virtually undocumented in scientific literature on meditation. Within Buddhist traditions, these phenomena are attributed a range of interpretations. However, because it is insufficient and problematic to rely solely upon the textual sources as a means of investigating the cause or significance of these phenomena, these qualitative reports are also considered in relation to scientific research on light-related experiences in the context of sensory deprivation, perceptual isolation, and clinical disorders of the visual system. The typologies derived from these studies also rely upon reports of experiences and closely match typologies derived from the qualitative study of contemporary practitioners and typologies found in Buddhist literary traditions. Taken together, these studies also provide evidence in support of the hypothesis that certain meditative practices - especially those that deliberately decrease social, kinesthetic, and sensory stimulation and emphasize focused attention - have perceptual and cognitive outcomes similar to sensory deprivation. Given that sensory deprivation increases neuroplasticity, meditation may also have an enhanced neuroplastic potential beyond ordinary experience-dependent changes. By providing and contextualizing these reports of meditation-induced light experiences, scientists, clinicians, and meditators gain a more informed view of the range of experiences that can be elicited by contemplative practices.

Effects of Yoga Nidra on Stress, Anxiety, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Shashank Ghai, Pawel Odyniec, Ishan Ghai · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025 · 1 citations

This meta-analysis found that Yoga Nidra showed moderate to large benefits for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression compared to both active and no-intervention controls, suggesting it's a promising practice to explore for personal well-being despite limitations in the quality of existing research.

Effects of Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation on Stress-Related Variables: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Sasima Pakulanon, Christine Le Scanff, Edith Filaire +4 more · International Journal of Yoga Therapy · 2024 · 3 citations

An 8-week program of either yoga or mindfulness meditation improved different stress-related markers in healthy adults, with yoga enhancing heart rate variability and mindfulness improving mindfulness skills and concentration, suggesting distinct benefits for self-experimenters.

The protective role of long-term meditation on the decline of the executive component of attention in aging: a preliminary cross-sectional study

Marco Sperduti, Dominique Makowski, Pascale Piolino · Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition · 2016 · 43 citations

Life expectancy is constantly increasing. However, a longer life not always corresponds to a healthier life. Indeed, even normal aging is associated with a decline in different cognitive functions. It has been proposed that a central mechanism that could contribute to this widespread cognitive decline is an ineffective inhibitory attentional control. Meditation, to the other hand, has been associated, in young adults, to enhancement of several attentional processes. Nevertheless, attention is not a unitary construct. An influent model proposed the distinction of three subsystems: the alerting (the ability to reach and maintain a vigilance state), the orienting (the capacity of focusing attention on a subset of stimuli), and the conflict resolution or executive component (the ability to resolve conflict or allocate limited resources between competing stimuli). Here, we investigated, employing the Attentional Network Task (ANT), the specific impact of age on these three subcomponents, and the protective role of long-term meditation testing a group of older adults naïve to meditation, a group of age-matched adults with long-term practice of meditation, and a group of young adults with no previous meditation experience. We reported a specific decline of the efficiency of the executive component in elderly that was not observed in age-matched meditators. Our results are encouraging for the investigation of the potential beneficial impact of meditation on other cognitive processes that decline in aging such as memory. Moreover, they could inform geriatric healthcare prevention and intervention strategies, proposing a new approach for cognitive remediation in elderly populations.

MAP training: combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression and rumination while enhancing synchronized brain activity

Brandon L. Alderman, Ryan L. Olson, Christopher J. Brush +1 more · Translational Psychiatry · 2016 · 118 citations

Mental and physical (MAP) training is a novel clinical intervention that combines mental training through meditation and physical training through aerobic exercise. The intervention was translated from neuroscientific studies indicating that MAP training increases neurogenesis in the adult brain. Each session consisted of 30 min of focused-attention (FA) meditation and 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Fifty-two participants completed the 8-week intervention, which consisted of two sessions per week. Following the intervention, individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD; n=22) reported significantly less depressive symptoms and ruminative thoughts. Typical healthy individuals (n=30) also reported less depressive symptoms at follow-up. Behavioral and event-related potential indices of cognitive control were collected at baseline and follow-up during a modified flanker task. Following MAP training, N2 and P3 component amplitudes increased relative to baseline, especially among individuals with MDD. These data indicate enhanced neural responses during the detection and resolution of conflicting stimuli. Although previous research has supported the individual beneficial effects of aerobic exercise and meditation for depression, these findings indicate that a combination of the two may be particularly effective in increasing cognitive control processes and decreasing ruminative thought patterns.

I think therefore i om: cognitive distortions and coping style as mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, positive and negative affect, and hope

Sharon R. Sears, Sue Kraus · Journal of Clinical Psychology · 2009 · 205 citations

This study examined cognitive distortions and coping styles as potential mediators for the effects of mindfulness meditation on anxiety, negative affect, positive affect, and hope in college students. Our pre- and postintervention design had four conditions: control, brief meditation focused on attention, brief meditation focused on loving kindness, and longer meditation combining both attentional and loving kindness aspects of mindfulness. Each group met weekly over the course of a semester. Longer combined meditation significantly reduced anxiety and negative affect and increased hope. Changes in cognitive distortions mediated intervention effects for anxiety, negative affect, and hope. Further research is needed to determine differential effects of types of meditation.

Magnetoencephalographic alpha band connectivity reveals differential default mode network interactions during focused attention and open monitoring meditation

Laura Marzetti, Claudia Di Lanzo, Filippo Zappasodi +3 more · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2014 · 72 citations

According to several conceptualizations of meditation, the interplay between brain systems associated to self-related processing, attention and executive control is crucial for meditative states and related traits. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate such interplay in a highly selected group of "virtuoso" meditators (Theravada Buddhist monks), with long-term training in the two main meditation styles: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) meditation. Specifically, we investigated the differences between FA meditation, OM meditation and resting state in the coupling between the posterior cingulate cortex, core node of the Default Mode Network (DMN) implicated in mind wandering and self-related processing, and the whole brain, with a recently developed phase coherence approach. Our findings showed a state dependent coupling of posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) to nodes of the DMN and of the executive control brain network in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz), related to different attentional and cognitive control processes in FA and OM meditation, consistently with the putative role of alpha band synchronization in the functional mechanisms for attention and consciousness. The coupling of PCC with left medial prefrontal cortex (lmPFC) and superior frontal gyrus characterized the contrast between the two meditation styles in a way that correlated with meditation expertise. These correlations may be related to a higher mindful observing ability and a reduced identification with ongoing mental activity in more expert meditators. Notably, different styles of meditation and different meditation expertise appeared to modulate the dynamic balance between fronto-parietal (FP) and DMN networks. Our results support the idea that the interplay between the DMN and the FP network in the alpha band is crucial for the transition from resting state to different meditative states.

Meditation training influences mind wandering and mindless reading.

Anthony P. Zanesco, Brandon G. King, Katherine A. MacLean +6 more · Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice · 2016 · 61 citations

It is challenging for individuals to maintain their attention on ongoing cognitive tasks without being distracted by task-unrelated thought. The wandering mind is thus a considerable obstacle when attention must be maintained over time. Mental training through meditation has been proposed as an effective method of attenuating the ebb and flow of attention to thoughts and feelings that distract from one's foremost present goals. We provide evidence from 2 longitudinal studies that intensive meditation training in focused attention and monitoring meditation is associated with attenuated lapses of attention while reading. Across 2 studies, participants completed a reading task requiring ongoing error monitoring to detect episodes of semantic inconsistency. In a preliminary study, training participants were assessed at the beginning and end of a 3-month shamatha meditation retreat and again 7 years later. In a second study, training and experiencematched control participants were assessed at the beginning and end of a 1-month insight meditation retreat. Across both studies, training participants engaged in less mind wandering and less mindless reading following meditation training. Intensive meditation training may promote reductions in mind wandering among practitioners when required to maintain attention during a complex cognitive task.

Mindfulness Meditation for Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Meng S, Cao C, Zhang M +2 more · Pain Physician · 2024

Consumer-Grade Neurofeedback With Mindfulness Meditation: Meta-Analysis.

Treves I, Bajwa Z, Greene KD +6 more · J Med Internet Res · 2025 · 5 citations

RETRACTED: Meditation-induced states predict attentional control over time

Lorenza S. Colzato, Roberta Sellaro, Iliana Samara +2 more · Consciousness and Cognition · 2015 · 53 citations

The Impact of Mindful Meditation in Nature on Self-Nature Interconnectedness

Sara J. Unsworth, Sean-Kelly Palicki, Jim Lustig · Mindfulness · 2016 · 68 citations

The Effect of Meditation-Based Mind-Body Interventions on Older Adults with Poor Sleep Quality: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Li Y, Tang J, Chen G · Behav Sleep Med · 2025 · 7 citations