Modulation of event-related potentials of visual discrimination by meditation training and sustained attention
Anthony Paul Zanesco, Brandon G King, Chivon Powers, Rosanna De Meo, Kezia Wineberg, Katherine A Maclean, Clifford D Saron
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal intervention with two cohorts (Retreat 1 and Retreat 2) and a wait-list control group |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants in two 3-month meditation interventions (shamatha retreats) and wait-list controls |
| Intervention | Shamatha (focused-attention) meditation |
| Duration | Two 3-month meditation interventions |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Visual processing Attention Cognitive enhancement |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key findings | Improvements in perceptual discrimination from meditation training can modulate event-related potentials of attention and perceptual processing during sustained attention, but only when the difficulty of the visual target is held constant rather than adjusted to match improving capacity. |
Abstract
The ability to discriminate among goal-relevant stimuli tends to diminish when detections must be made continuously over time. Previously, we reported that intensive training in shamatha (focused-attention) meditation can improve perceptual discrimination of difficult-to-detect visual stimuli (MacLean et al., 2010). Here we extend these findings to examine how discrimination difficulty and meditation training interact to modulate event-related potentials of attention and perceptual processing during vigilance. Training and wait-list participants completed a continuous performance task (CPT) at the beginning, middle, and end of two 3-month meditation interventions. In the first intervention (Retreat 1), the CPT target was adjusted across assessments to match training-related changes in participants’ perceptual capacity. In the second intervention (Retreat 2), the target was held constant across training, irrespective of changes in discrimination capacity. No training effects were observed in Retreat 1, whereas Retreat 2 was associated with changes in the onset of early sensory signals and an attenuation of within-task decrements at early latencies. In addition, changes at later stimulus processing stages were directly correlated with improvements in perceptual threshold across the second intervention. Overall, these findings demonstrate that improvements in perceptual discrimination can modulate electrophysiological markers of perceptual processing and attentional control during sustained attention, but likely only under conditions where an individuals’ discrimination capacity is allowed to exceed the demand imposed by the difficulty of a visual target. These results contribute to basic understanding of the dependence of perceptual processing and attentional control to contextual demands, and their susceptibility to directed mental training.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- Psychedelic Experience October 26, 2023
- Too much or not enough of a good thing? Reconciling differing perspectives on the optimal dose of mindfulness meditation and advancing a dose-response research agenda June 23, 2023
- Attention Psychedelic Experience October 26, 2023
- Well-Being Psychedelic Experience October 26, 2023
- Creativity Psychedelic Experience October 26, 2023
and 6 more in the library
Cites 9
- Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science June 1, 2010
- Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence Journal of Neuroscience October 21, 2009
- Mental Training as a Tool in the Neuroscientific Study of Brain and Cognitive Plasticity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2011
- Cognitive Aging and Long-Term Maintenance of Attentional Improvements Following Meditation Training
- Executive control and felt concentrative engagement following intensive meditation training
and 4 more in the library