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Lin Y, Atad D, Zanesco AP. Using EEG to advance mindfulness science: A survey of emerging methods and approaches. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00280-5. [PMID: 39369988 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Revised: 09/22/2024] [Accepted: 09/25/2024] [Indexed: 10/08/2024]
Abstract
Throughout the brief history of contemplative neuroscience, electroencephalography (EEG) has been a valuable and enduring methodology used to elucidate the neural correlates and mechanisms of mindfulness. In this review article, we provide a reminder that longevity should not be conflated with obsoletion, and that EEG continues to offer exceptional promise for addressing key questions and challenges that pervade the field today. Toward this end, we outline the unique advantages of EEG from a research strategy and experimental design perspective, before highlighting an array of new sophisticated data analytic approaches and translational paradigms. Along the way, we provide illustrative examples from our own work and the broader literature to showcase how these innovations can be leveraged to spark new insights and stimulate progress across both basic science and translational applications of mindfulness. Ultimately, we argue that EEG still has much to contribute to contemplative neuroscience, and hope to solicit the interest of other investigators to make full use of its capabilities in service of maximizing its potential within the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanli Lin
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.
| | - Daniel Atad
- Faculty of Education, Department of Counseling and Human Development, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel; Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Anthony P Zanesco
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
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Lin Y, White ML, Wu D, Viravan N, Braver TS. Distinct Mindfulness States Produce Dissociable Effects on Neural Markers of Emotion Processing: Evidence From the Late Positive Potential. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 4:100357. [PMID: 39183744 PMCID: PMC11342101 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Mindfulness has long been theorized to benefit emotion regulation, but despite the ubiquity of the claim, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating how mindfulness modulates the neurophysiology of emotion processing. The current study aimed to fill this gap in knowledge by leveraging a novel research approach capable of discretizing mindfulness into distinct states of open monitoring (OM) and focused attention (FA) to distinguish their influence on multimodal subjective and objective measures of emotion processing. Methods Utilizing a fully within-participant picture viewing state induction protocol (N = 30), we compared the effects of OM and FA, rigorously contrasted against an active control, on the visually evoked late positive potential (LPP), a neural index of motivated attention. Bayesian mixed modeling was used to distinguish OM versus FA effects on the early and late sustained LPP while evaluating the influence of subjective arousal ratings as a within-participant moderator of the state inductions. Results When negative picture trials were retrospectively rated as more subjectively arousing, the OM induction reduced the late sustained LPP response, whereas the FA induction enhanced the LPP. Conclusions Acute manipulation of OM and FA states may reduce and enhance motivated attention to aversive stimuli during conditions of high subjective arousal, respectively. Functional distinctions between different mindfulness states on emotion processing may be most dissociable after accounting for within-participant variability in how stimuli are appraised. These results support the future potential of the state induction protocol for parsing the neural affective mechanisms that underlie mindfulness training programs and interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanli Lin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Marne L. White
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Deanna Wu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Natee Viravan
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Todd S. Braver
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
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Newberg AB, Wintering NA, Hriso C, Vedaei F, Gottfried S, Ross R. Neuroimaging evaluation of the long term impact of a novel paired meditation practice on brain function. FRONTIERS IN NEUROIMAGING 2024; 3:1368537. [PMID: 38915737 PMCID: PMC11194388 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2024.1368537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Background A growing number of advanced neuroimaging studies have compared brain structure and function in long term meditators to non-meditators. The goal is to determine if there may be long term effects on the brain from practicing meditation. In this paper, we present new data on the long term effects of a novel meditation practice in which the focus is on clitoral stimulation. The findings from such a study have implications for potential therapeutic uses with regard to various neurological or psychiatric conditions. Methods We evaluated the cerebral glucose metabolism in 40 subjects with an extended history (>1 year of practice, 2-3 times per week) performing the meditation practice called Orgasmic Meditation (OM) and compared their brains to a group of non-meditating healthy controls (N = 19). Both meditation and non-meditation subjects underwent brain PET after injection with 148 to 296 MBq of FDG using a standard imaging protocol. Resting FDG PET scans of the OM group were compared to the resting scans of healthy, non-meditating, controls using statistical parametric mapping. Results The OM group showed significant differences in metabolic activity at rest compared to the controls. Specifically, there was significantly lower metabolism in select areas of the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, as well as the anterior cingulate, insula, and thalamus, in the OM group compared to the controls. In addition, there were notable distinctions between the males and females with the females demonstrating significantly lower metabolism in the thalamus and insula. Conclusions Overall, these findings suggest that the long term meditation practitioners of OM have different patterns of resting brain metabolism. Since these areas of the brain in which OM practitioners differ from controls are involved in cognition, attention, and emotional regulation, such findings have implications for understanding how this meditation practice might affect practitioners over long periods of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Newberg
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Nancy A. Wintering
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Chloe Hriso
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Faezeh Vedaei
- Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sara Gottfried
- Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Reneita Ross
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Lin Y, White ML, Viravan N, Braver TS. Parsing state mindfulness effects on neurobehavioral markers of cognitive control: A within-subject comparison of focused attention and open monitoring. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:527-551. [PMID: 38351398 PMCID: PMC11081826 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01167-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
Over the past two decades, scientific interest in understanding the relationship between mindfulness and cognition has accelerated. However, despite considerable investigative efforts, pervasive methodological inconsistencies within the literature preclude a thorough understanding of whether or how mindfulness influences core cognitive functions. The purpose of the current study is to provide an initial "proof-of-concept" demonstration of a new research strategy and methodological approach designed to address previous limitations. Specifically, we implemented a novel fully within-subject state induction protocol to elucidate the neurobehavioral influence of discrete mindfulness states-focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), compared against an active control-on well-established behavioral and ERP indices of executive attention and error monitoring assessed during the Eriksen flanker task. Bayesian mixed modeling was used to test preregistered hypotheses pertaining to FA and OM effects on flanker interference, the stimulus-locked P3, and the response-locked ERN and Pe. Results yielded strong but unexpected evidence that OM selectively produced a more cautious and intentional response style, characterized by higher accuracy, slower RTs, and reduced P3 amplitude. Follow-up exploratory analyses revealed that trait mindfulness moderated the influence of OM, such that individuals with greater trait mindfulness responded more cautiously and exhibited higher trial accuracy and smaller P3s. Neither FA nor OM modulated the ERN or Pe. Taken together, our findings support the promise of our approach, demonstrating that theoretically distinct mindfulness states are functionally dissociable among mindfulness-naive participants and that interactive variability associated with different operational facets of mindfulness (i.e., state vs. trait) can be modeled directly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanli Lin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Marne L White
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Natee Viravan
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Todd S Braver
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
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Upshaw JD, Shields GS, Judah MR, Zabelina DL. Electrophysiological effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control following a brief mindfulness induction. Biol Psychol 2024; 185:108725. [PMID: 37993083 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Smartphone use is nearly ubiquitous, with 93% of adults among economically developed countries, including the United States, Canada, Israel, and South Korea owning a smartphone (Taylor & Silver, 2019). Multiple studies have demonstrated the distracting effects of smartphone notifications on behavioral measures of cognition. Fewer studies have examined the effects of notifications on neural activity underlying higher-level cognitive processes or behavioral inductions to reduce smartphone-related distraction. Using EEG spectral frequency power densities, we assessed the effects of smartphone notifications (vs. control trials) on engagement of attentional shifting processes involved in cognitive control during a Navon Letter visual oddball task. Participants were randomly assigned to a brief mindfulness induction (N = 44) or a neutral narration control condition (N = 43). Overall, participants had lower theta-band power, but higher alpha- and beta-band power densities on target letter trials preceded by smartphone notifications. Additionally, participants in the mindfulness (vs. control) condition had a larger attention shifting oddball assessed via theta power density and theta/beta ratio (TBR) values-reflecting increased engagement of cognitive control-particularly on smartphone notification (vs. control) trials. Altogether, these results provide evidence supporting the idea that smartphone notifications can decrease activity of neural correlates of cognitive control, and offer the promise of a brief mindfulness induction to buffer against the effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control. The findings indicate a need for further research on mindfulness inductiosn as a means to reduce potential distraction caused by smartphones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua D Upshaw
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 480 N. Campus Walk, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
| | - Grant S Shields
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 480 N. Campus Walk, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Matt R Judah
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 480 N. Campus Walk, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Darya L Zabelina
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 480 N. Campus Walk, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
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Lodha S, Gupta R. Are You Distracted by Pleasure? Practice Mindfulness Meditation. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-023-00257-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
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Lodha S, Gupta R. Irrelevant angry, but not happy, faces facilitate response inhibition in mindfulness meditators. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04384-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
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Pataka A, Kotoulas SC, Gavrilis PR, Karkala A, Tzinas A, Stefanidou A. Adherence to CPAP Treatment: Can Mindfulness Play a Role? Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13020296. [PMID: 36836653 PMCID: PMC9960813 DOI: 10.3390/life13020296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is considered a chronic disease that requires long-term multidisciplinary management for effective treatment. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is still considered the gold standard of therapy. However, CPAP effectiveness is limited due to poor patients' adherence, as almost 50% of patients discontinue treatment after a year. Several interventions have been used in order to increase CPAP adherence. Mindfulness-based therapies have been applied in other sleep disorders such as insomnia but little evidence exists for their application on OSA patients. This review aims to focus on the current data on whether mindfulness interventions may be used in order to increase CPAP adherence and improve the sleep quality of OSA patients. Even though controlled trials of mindfulness and CPAP compliance remain to be performed, this review supports the hypothesis that mindfulness may be used as an adjunct method in order to increase CPAP adherence in OSA patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athanasia Pataka
- Respiratory Failure Unit, G. Papanikolaou Hospital Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Correspondence:
| | | | | | - Alice Karkala
- Respiratory Failure Unit, G. Papanikolaou Hospital Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Asterios Tzinas
- Respiratory Failure Unit, G. Papanikolaou Hospital Thessaloniki, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 57010 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Aimiliza Stefanidou
- American College of Thessaloniki (ACT), Vasiliou Sevenidi 17, Pilea, 55535 Thessaloniki, Greece
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Fisher ME, Duraney E, Friess K, Whitmoyer P, Andridge R, Prakash RS. Trait mindfulness and emotion regulation responsiveness to negative affect in daily life. Mindfulness (N Y) 2022; 13:2796-2811. [PMID: 38500843 PMCID: PMC10948115 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-022-01996-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Objectives Recent conceptualizations of adaptive emotion regulation is predicated on the ability to flexibly use emotion regulation strategies to meet changing contextual demands. Although trait mindfulness has been linked to enhanced emotional well-being and use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies, there is a dearth of literature examining associations between trait mindfulness and emotion regulation flexibility. Further, despite a rich literature suggesting that emotion regulation processes change with age, no study to date has assessed whether the role of trait mindfulness on emotion regulation responsiveness to negative emotions-a component of emotion regulation flexibility-differs between young and older adults. Methods The current study recruited 130 young adults and 130 older adults to assess trait mindfulness, emotion regulation strategy use, and emotion regulation responsiveness of six distinct strategies in daily life. Results Across the full sample, trait mindfulness was related to reduced distraction (β = -0.11, t(238.09) = -3.02, p = .003) and expressive suppression (β = -0.15, t(237.70) = -4.62, p < .001) strategy use. Age moderation analyses revealed that trait mindfulness was associated with reduced expressive suppression responsiveness (β = 0.12, t(247) = 2.31, p = .022) in young adults and increased detached reappraisal responsiveness among older adults (β = 0.15, t(247) = -2.95, p = .003). Conclusions The current findings highlight the importance of understanding how trait mindfulness is associated with strategy use and responsiveness to negative affect changes in daily life as well as how these patterns may shift across the lifespan. Manuscript Pre-registration Open Science Framework, registration number: z5g8v.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Ruchika S. Prakash
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University
- Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging, The Ohio State University
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Feruglio S, Panasiti MS, Crescentini C, Aglioti SM, Ponsi G. The impact of mindfulness meditation on social and moral behavior: Does mindfulness enhance other-oriented motivation or decrease monetary reward salience? Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:963422. [PMID: 36118116 PMCID: PMC9478338 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.963422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This perspective article provides an overview of the impact of mindfulness meditation (MM) on social and moral behavior. In mindfulness research, prosocial behavior has been operationalized as helping behavior, altruistic redistribution of funds, reparative behavior, or monetary donation. Studies concerning moral behavior are still scarce. Despite inconsistent evidence, several studies found a beneficial effect of mindfulness on prosocial outcomes (i.e., a higher propensity to spend or give away money for the sake of other individuals). However, since the employed tasks were reward-based, participants’ decisions also directly affected their own payoff by reducing it. Crucially, MM also affects self-control circuitry and reduces reward-seeking behaviors and reward salience by making rewards less tempting. We have discussed evidence suggesting how challenging it may be to dissociate the specific weight of enhanced other-oriented motivation from one of the decreased monetary reward salience in explaining meditators’ behavior. Future higher-quality studies are needed to address this open issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Feruglio
- Italian Institute of Technology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Rome, Italy
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education, and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiano Crescentini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education, and Society, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
- Institute of Mechanical Intelligence, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Italian Institute of Technology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgia Ponsi
- Italian Institute of Technology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Giorgia Ponsi,
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