Mindful attention promotes control of brain network dynamics for self-regulation and discontinues the past from the present
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 3, 2023 Dale Zhou, Yoona Kang, Danielle Cosme et al. 40 citations
People with greater network controllability—the ability to efficiently distribute neural control inputs across the brain's white matter—moderated their alcohol consumption. In a randomized controlled study, participants primed to mindfully respond to alcohol cues, compared to those who naturally reacted, reported reduced craving, though craving did not differ from a baseline group. Mindful regulation of alcohol cues involved more effortful control of neural dynamics across cognitive control and attention subnetworks compared to natural reactions in the baseline group, and this effort persisted in the mindful group's natural reactions. More effortful neural states had shorter intrinsic timescales, explaining how mindful attention promotes being present by quickly discontinuing past processing.