Parsing state mindfulness effects on neurobehavioral markers of cognitive control: A within-subject comparison of focused attention and open monitoring.
Yanli Lin, Marne L. White, Natee Viravan, Todd S. Braver
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience February 13, 2024 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01167-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subject experimental study Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mindfulness-naive participants |
| Intervention | active control |
| Measures | Eriksen flanker task, P3, ERN, Pe |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Brain Humans Electroencephalography Bayes theorem Cognition Psychomotor performance Attention Reaction time Neuropsychological tests Evoked potentials Adolescent Female Young adult Executive function EEG |
| Key findings | Open monitoring selectively produced a more cautious and intentional response style, with higher accuracy, slower reaction times, and reduced P3 amplitude, while focused attention had no such effect. Trait mindfulness moderated the open monitoring effect. Neither state modulated the ERN or Pe. The authors argue that distinct mindfulness states are functionally dissociable and that state and trait facets can be modeled directly. |
Abstract
Over the past two decades, scientific interest in understanding the relationship between mindfulness and cognition has accelerated. However, despite considerable investigative efforts, pervasive methodological inconsistencies within the literature preclude a thorough understanding of whether or how mindfulness influences core cognitive functions. The purpose of the current study is to provide an initial "proof-of-concept" demonstration of a new research strategy and methodological approach designed to address previous limitations. Specifically, we implemented a novel fully within-subject state induction protocol to elucidate the neurobehavioral influence of discrete mindfulness states-focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM), compared against an active control-on well-established behavioral and ERP indices of executive attention and error monitoring assessed during the Eriksen flanker task. Bayesian mixed modeling was used to test preregistered hypotheses pertaining to FA and OM effects on flanker interference, the stimulus-locked P3, and the response-locked ERN and Pe. Results yielded strong but unexpected evidence that OM selectively produced a more cautious and intentional response style, characterized by higher accuracy, slower RTs, and reduced P3 amplitude. Follow-up exploratory analyses revealed that trait mindfulness moderated the influence of OM, such that individuals with greater trait mindfulness responded more cautiously and exhibited higher trial accuracy and smaller P3s. Neither FA nor OM modulated the ERN or Pe. Taken together, our findings support the promise of our approach, demonstrating that theoretically distinct mindfulness states are functionally dissociable among mindfulness-naive participants and that interactive variability associated with different operational facets of mindfulness (i.e., state vs. trait) can be modeled directly.
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 7
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of focused attention meditation: A scoping systematic review Imaging Neuroscience 2025
- Meditation-Specific Neural Predictors of State Mindfulness During Eyes Open Meditation Mindfulness May 11, 2026
- Mindfulness training enhances face working memory: evidence from the drift-diffusion model npj Science of Learning December 9, 2025
- The Role of Meditation in Shaping Resilience. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences May 1, 2026
- Trait Mindfulness and Inhibitory Control in Young Adults: Moderation by Sex and Mediation by Resting EEG Research Square March 5, 2026
and 2 more in the library
Cites 40
- 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
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
and 35 more in the library