Exploring psychological and neurophysiological effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in healthy young adults.
Francesco Bubbico, Teresa Fazia, Andrea Nova, Tony Steffert, Sonja A. Kotz, Antonio Criscuolo, Anna De Chino, Lisa Catanzaro, Gerardo Salvato, Gabriella Bottini, Salvatore Bruno, Luisa Bernardinelli
PsyArXiv May 14, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/afj4r_v2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 50 |
| Population | Young adults |
| Intervention | Integral Meditation |
| Measures | dispositional mindfulness, state anxiety, trait anxiety, interoceptive sensibility, interoceptive accuracy, individual alpha peak (IAP) frequency, IAP power, alpha relative power |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Integral Meditation improved dispositional mindfulness and interoceptive sensibility compared with an inactive control, but did not affect anxiety or interoceptive accuracy. No overall neurophysiological effect appeared, though IM increased individual alpha peak power in participants with lower baseline alpha levels, particularly in a left-lateralized electrode cluster, suggesting baseline-dependent modulation of brain alpha activity. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions improve psychological well-being but their effects on neurophysiological measures remain inconsistent. Traditional group-averaging approaches may overlook inter-individual variability, leaving doubts about if and how MBIs can influence one’s well-being. This study investigates the effect of Integral Meditation (IM) on behavioural and neurophysiological outcomes in young adults.Fifty participants were randomized to intervention (n=22) or inactive control group (n=28). Behavioural outcomes included dispositional mindfulness, state and trait anxiety, interoceptive sensibility and interoceptive accuracy. Neurophysiological outcomes included individual alpha peak (IAP) frequency, IAP power and alpha relative power from resting-state EEG. Main effect linear models evaluated pre-post group differences, while interaction models examined whether intervention effects depended on baseline measurement. P-values were adjusted using Benjamini-Hochberg with FDR=0.10.IM significantly improved dispositional mindfulness (Beta=7.01[0.97;13.04],adjusted p-value=0.09) and interoceptive sensibility (Beta=0.41[0.19;0.63],adjusted p-value=0.005) and their sub-components. No effects were observed for anxiety and interoceptive accuracy. Although no main intervention effect emerged for neurophysiological indices, IM increased IAP power in participants with lower baseline IAP levels (Beta=-0.40[-0.73;-0.07],adjusted p-value=0.06), particularly in the left-lateralized electrode cluster (Beta=-0.49[-0.81;-0.17],adjusted p-value=0.03). Results suggest that IM promotes psychological improvement, enhancing mindfulness and interoceptive sensibility, and baseline-dependent modulation of brain alpha activity, highlighting the importance of individual variability in mindfulness research.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |