Mindful attention promotes control of brain network dynamics for self-regulation and discontinues the past from the present
Dale Zhou, Yoona Kang, Danielle Cosme, Mia Jovanova, Xiaosong He, Arun S. Mahadevan, Jeesung Ahn, Ovidia Stanoi, Julia K. Brynildsen, Nicole Cooper, Eli J. Cornblath, Linden Parkes, Peter J. Mucha, Kevin N. Ochsner, David M. Lydon‐Staley, Emily B. Falk, Dani S. Bassett
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 3, 2023 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201074119 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 wk postscan |
| Topics | Addiction Meditation |
| Keywords | Craving Control management Cognition Sobriety Operationalization Cognitive psychology Controllability Attentional control Developmental psychology Clinical psychology Artificial intelligence Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 40 |
| Key points | Participants with greater network controllability moderated alcohol consumption, and mindful regulation of alcohol cues involved more effortful neural control across cognitive control and attention subnetworks. |
Abstract
Mindful attention is characterized by acknowledging the present experience as a transient mental event. Early stages of mindfulness practice may require greater neural effort for later efficiency. Early effort may self-regulate behavior and focalize the present, but this understanding lacks a computational explanation. Here we used network control theory as a model of how external control inputs-operationalizing effort-distribute changes in neural activity evoked during mindful attention across the white matter network. We hypothesized that individuals with greater network controllability, thereby efficiently distributing control inputs, effectively self-regulate behavior. We further hypothesized that brain regions that utilize greater control input exhibit shorter intrinsic timescales of neural activity. Shorter timescales characterize quickly discontinuing past processing to focalize the present. We tested these hypotheses in a randomized controlled study that primed participants to either mindfully respond or naturally react to alcohol cues during fMRI and administered text reminders and measurements of alcohol consumption during 4 wk postscan. We found that participants with greater network controllability moderated alcohol consumption. Mindful regulation of alcohol cues, compared to one's own natural reactions, reduced craving, but craving did not differ from the baseline group. Mindful regulation of alcohol cues, compared to the natural reactions of the baseline group, involved more-effortful control of neural dynamics across cognitive control and attention subnetworks. This effort persisted in the natural reactions of the mindful group compared to the baseline group. More-effortful neural states had shorter timescales than less effortful states, offering an explanation for how mindful attention promotes being present.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on addiction, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- Transcranial focused ultrasound to the posterior cingulate cortex modulates default mode network and subjective experience: an fMRI pilot study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2024
- Time-resolved network control analysis links reduced control energy under DMT with the serotonin 2a receptor, signal diversity, and subjective experience bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) May 12, 2023
- Network control energy reductions under DMT relate to serotonin receptors, signal diversity, and subjective experience. Communications Biology April 18, 2025
- Dynamic processes of mindfulness-based alterations in pain perception. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023
- Neurofeedback Training Facilitates Awareness and Enhances Emotional Well-being Associated with Real-World Meditation Practice: A 7-T MRI Study. Mindfulness September 26, 2025
and 6 more in the library
Cites 48
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
and 43 more in the library