The Effect of a Short Mindfulness Meditation on Somatosensory Attention

A brief 10-minute mindfulness meditation helped preserve attention resources in people who had never meditated before. The study measured a brain signal called the somatosensory P300, which is linked to attention, while participants counted rare tactile stimuli. In a control group that listened to an audio clip, P300 amplitudes decreased from the first to the second session, indicating habituation. In the meditation group, this decrease did not occur, suggesting that even a short meditation practice can prevent the typical drop in attentional neural responses. This preservation of the P300 amplitude may be an early neural mechanism through which mindfulness training improves executive attention.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Mindfulness training has been theorised to have beneficial effects on mental health through initially changes in attention mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of a short mindfulness meditation on the P300 event-related potential (ERP), a neural marker of attention, in meditation-naïve participants. Methods As mindfulness practice is based on monitoring bodily sensations and breathing, we applied somatosensory stimuli to investigate attention changes. We employed an oddball paradigm with frequent tactile stimuli delivered to the tip of the index finger and infrequent stimuli to the base of the index and the little finger of the right hand to elicit the somatosensory P300. Forty-six participants counted the infrequent stimuli in two separate sessions before and after a 10-min guided meditation, or a control audio clip. We also measured participants’ trait mindfulness (FFMQ) and anxiety (STAI-T) to ensure similar levels in the meditation and control group prior to the intervention. Results In line with previous research, we show decreased somatosensory P300 amplitudes to infrequent tactile target stimuli after compared to before the audio clip in the control group. Such a decrease in P300 amplitudes was not present in the mindfulness meditation group as confirmed in a significant group by time interaction. Conclusions Even a short mindfulness meditation leads to preservation of attention resources in meditation-naïve participants. The preservation (or lack of habituation) of the amplitude of the somatosensory P300 across repeated presentations may reflect the underlying, early neural mechanism by which mindfulness meditation training modulates executive attention. Trial Registration Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/pkxm3.