Longitudinal evidence for differential plasticity of cognitive functions: Mindfulness-based mental training enhances working memory, but not perceptual discrimination, response inhibition, and metacognition.
Journal of Experimental Psychology General July 2022 DOI: 10.1037/xge0001143 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Longitudinal mental training intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Duration | 9-month mental training study |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Working memory performance improved specifically after a mindfulness-based attention module, and the improvement was positively related to training intensity, but not paralleled by reduced effects of encoding time, memory load, or proactive interference. None of the three training modules altered perceptual threshold, response inhibition, or metacognition. |
Abstract
Recent decades have witnessed an increasing interest in effects of meditation-based interventions on the improvement of cognitive abilities, ranging from perceptual discrimination to metacognition. However, intervention studies face numerous conceptual and methodological challenges, and results are fairly inconsistent. In a large-scale 9-month mental training study, we investigated differential changes in different facets of cognitive functioning after training of three distinct types of mental training modules focusing on attention, socioemotional, and sociocognitive skills. We found enhanced working memory performance specifically after the mindfulness-based attention module, an effect that was positively related to training intensity, but not paralleled by reduced effects of encoding time, memory load, or proactive interference. By contrast, none of the training modules altered perceptual threshold, response inhibition, or metacognition. These findings provide benchmarks for effect-sizes in training-induced change and specify the most promising practice type as well as the underlying processes for improvements in working memory performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- A neuroscience perspective on the plasticity of the social and relational brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences May 1, 2025
- Enhancing psychological health and cognitive inhibition in college students: insights from mindfulness training and high-intensity interval training. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- Mindfulness and Metacognitive Monitoring Accuracy in Young Meditation Practitioners Compared to Non-Practitioners Mindfulness July 13, 2026
- Mindfulness training enhances face working memory: evidence from the drift-diffusion model npj Science of Learning December 9, 2025
- The Social Mind: Scientific Investigation and Spiritual Interventions Religions August 12, 2025
and 3 more in the library