Attention and meditative development: A review and synthesis of long-term meditators and outlook for the study of advanced meditation.
Sebastian Ehmann, Idil Sezer, Arielle S Keller, Isaac N Treves, Matthew D. Sacchet
Neuroimage November 19, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121602 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Long-term meditators |
| Interventions | mindfulness meditation observe-and-release techniques |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Advanced meditation Attention regulation Awareness Long-term meditators Sustained meditative development Consistent practice Attentional functions Executive attention Alertness Reducing mind-wandering Mental faculties Extensive meditation practice |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Long-term meditation enhances attention regulation in accordance with training specificity principles, with alertness benefiting most from long-term and intensive acute practice. |
Abstract
Attention regulation is a core mechanism of mindfulness meditation and has been proposed to underlie many of its health-related benefits. Here, we review and synthesize behavioral findings on attentional outcomes in long-term meditators, integrating neurocognitive evidence within a meditative development framework. Key findings indicate trait-level improvements across attentional functions-executive attention, sustained attention, hierarchical and general orienting-and attentional phenomena, such as the attentional blink. Preliminary evidence also identifies trait enhancements in response inhibition, alertness, and reduced mind-wandering. Interaction effects were found for response inhibition, sustained attention, reduced mind-wandering, and alertness, with alertness benefiting most strongly from long-term and intensive acute practice. As expected, attention-based outperformed non-attention-based techniques, while observe-and-release techniques facilitated attentional orienting and detection of closely spaced or unexpected stimuli during sustained attention tasks. These findings suggest that long-term meditation may enhance attention regulation in accordance with training specificity principles; the cognitive functions most directly targeted are the most likely to improve. Nevertheless, broader findings indicate that meditative development may depend on the balanced cultivation of multiple faculties over time, highlighting the non-linear and multidimensional nature of long-term meditative change. Consistent with traditional goals of cultivating mental faculties, the present findings may reflect attentional adaptations that support the development of advanced meditative states. Despite considerable consistency in empirical results, methodological limitations-including heterogeneous study designs and insufficient differentiation between states and traits-complicate interpretations. Future research should prioritize operationalizing and measuring contemplative constructs within integrative frameworks and using rigorous factorial designs to clarify state-trait interactions and meditation predictors.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Advanced meditation, sleep, and consciousness science: An emerging frontier. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews August 1, 2026
- Toward an interdisciplinary mind science of advanced meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences September 9, 2026
- Brain criticality and advanced meditation “cessation” events: An intensively sampled electroencephalography case study IBRO Neuroscience Reports August 1, 2026
Cites 74
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Assessment of Mindfulness by Self-Report Assessment September 1, 2004
- Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 26, 2009
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
and 69 more in the library