Deconstructing the emotion regulatory properties of mindfulness: An electrophysiological investigation
Yanli Lin, Megan Fisher, Sean Roberts, Jason S. Moser
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience December 22, 2016 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00451 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Guided meditation practice Control audio recording |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotion Erps event-related potentials Lpp |
| Key findings | Brief mindfulness meditation, but not state mindfulness instructions, reduced the LPP response difference between negative high-arousing and neutral stimuli, indicating reduced emotional reactivity. |
Abstract
The present study sought to uncover the emotion regulatory properties of mindfulness by examining its effects—differentiated as a meditative practice, state of mind, and dispositional trait—on the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential indexing emotional processing. Results revealed that mindfulness as a meditative practice produced a reduction in the difference between the LPP response to negative high arousing and neutral stimuli across time. In contrast, a state mindfulness induction (i.e., instructions to attend to the stimuli mindfully) failed to modulate the LPP. Dispositional mindfulness, however, was related to modulation of the LPP as a function of meditation practice. Dispositional mindfulness was associated with a reduction of the LPP response to negative high arousal stimuli and the difference between negative high arousal and neutral stimuli in participants who listened to a control audio recording but not for those who engaged in the guided meditation practice. Together, these findings provide experimental evidence demonstrating that brief mindfulness meditation, but not deliberate engagement in state mindfulness, produces demonstrable changes in emotional processing indicative of reduced emotional reactivity. Importantly, these effects are akin to those observed in individuals with naturally high dispositional mindfulness, suggesting that the benefits of mindfulness can be cultivated through practice.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 16
- On Variation in Mindfulness Training: A Multimodal Study of Brief Open Monitoring Meditation on Error Monitoring Brain Sciences September 6, 2019
- An electrophysiological investigation on the emotion regulatory mechanisms of brief open monitoring meditation in novice non-meditators Scientific Reports August 28, 2020
- A multivariate twin study of the genetic association between present moment attention and subjective wellbeing Scientific Reports October 14, 2023
- Candidate Targets for Resilience Training to Reduce Transdiagnostic Risk for Mental Illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin June 17, 2025
- Meditation-Specific Neural Predictors of State Mindfulness During Eyes Open Meditation Mindfulness May 11, 2026
and 11 more in the library
Cites 26
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
and 21 more in the library