Short-term Smartphone App–Based Focused Attention Meditation Diminishes Cognitive Flexibility
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience August 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01564 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Crossover study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Focused attention meditation (FAM) |
| Duration | 15 minutes |
| Measures | N2, P3 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | A brief 15-minute focused attention meditation session appeared to impair, rather than improve, task-switching performance by hampering response selection and conflict resolution and reducing cognitive resources for rapid adaptation. The effects were seen in N2 and P3 EEG windows and linked to the anterior cingulate cortex, while motor processes were unaffected. The authors suggest this reflects increased focus at the cost of behavioral rigidity. |
Abstract
Abstract: Cognitive flexibility is an important aspect relevant to daily life situations, and there is an increasing public interest to optimize these functions, for example, using (brief) meditation practices. However, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. On the basis of theoretical considerations, both improvements and deteriorations of cognitive flexibility are possible through focused attention meditation (FAM). We investigated the effect of a brief smartphone app–based FAM on task switching using EEG methods, temporal signal decomposition, and source localization techniques (standardized low-resolution electromagnetic brain tomography). The study was conducted using a crossover study design. We show that even 15 min of FAM practicing modulates memory-based task switching, on a behavioral level and a neurophysiological level. More specifically, FAM hampers response selection and conflict resolution processes and seem to reduce cognitive resources, which are necessary to rapidly adapt to changing conditions. These effects are represented in the N2 and P3 time windows and associated with ACC. It seems that FAM increases the attention to one specific aspect, which may help to focus but carries also the risk that behavior becomes too rigid. FAM thus seems to modulate both the stimulus- and response-related aspects of conflict monitoring in ACC. Motor-related processes were not affected. The results can be explained using a cognitive control dilemma framework, suggesting that particularly alterations in background monitoring may be important to consider when explaining the effects of FAM during task switching.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Short-term Focused Attention Meditation Restricts the Retrieval of Stimulus-Response Bindings to Relevant Information Mindfulness March 9, 2021
- App-based mindfulness meditation training enhances cognitive flexibility and modulates ACC and medial frontal gyrus activation during task switching in adolescent OCD. Neuroimage: Reports June 1, 2026
- The Role of Meditation in Shaping Resilience. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences May 1, 2026
- Electroencephalography-Based Measures to Understand Meditation and Mindfulness: Bibliometric Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2026
- Effects of short mindful breathing meditations on executive functioning in two randomized controlled double-blinded experiments. Acta Psychologica August 15, 2023
and 1 more in the library
Cites 10
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Regular, brief mindfulness meditation practice improves electrophysiological markers of attentional control Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Enhanced response inhibition during intensive meditation training predicts improvements in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning. Emotion April 1, 2011
- Outstanding Challenges in Scientific Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Executive control and felt concentrative engagement following intensive meditation training. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 5 more in the library