The effects of intensive mindfulness interventions on athletes’ psychological states and cognitive performance: an fNIRS study
BMC Psychology March 9, 2026 Yunting Song, Jiaxiu Zhang, Shukurjon Gaziev et al.
A 10-day intensive mindfulness training for elite badminton athletes increased self-reported mindfulness but did not significantly improve accuracy or reaction time on the Tower of London executive task compared to an active control group. Under low cognitive load, the mindfulness group showed a lower hemodynamic response in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and a higher neural efficiency index in that region. The vlPFC response was positively associated with reaction time. The absence of robust behavioral changes suggests caution in interpreting the neural findings.