Enhancing Chinese preschoolers' executive function via mindfulness training: An fNIRS study.
Sha Xie, Chaohui Gong, Jiahao Lu, Hui Li, Dandan Wu, Xinli Chi, Chunqi Chang
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience August 25, 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.961797 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | One-group pretest-posttest design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | Chinese preschoolers (mean age 67.03 months, SD 4.25) |
| Intervention | Mindfulness training |
| Duration | 5-week intervention, twice per week; follow-up not stated |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Working memory Preschooler Inhibitory control Executive function Fnirs Mindfulness training Cognitive shifting |
| Key points | After a 5-week, twice-per-week mindfulness training, preschoolers' cognitive shifting and working memory task performance improved significantly, and activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex changed significantly. The text does not report results for inhibitory control. |
Abstract
Mindfulness training has been found to enable cognitive and emotional awareness and diminish emotional distraction and cognitive rigidity. However, the existing intervention studies have largely focused on school children, adolescents, and adults, leaving young children unexplored. This study examined the influence of mindfulness training on young children using the one-group pretest-posttest design. Altogether 31 Chinese preschoolers (M age = 67.03 months, SD = 4.25) enrolled in a 5-week, twice-per-week mindfulness training. Their cognitive shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory were examined using a battery of executive function tasks. And their brain activations in the region of interest during the tasks were measured using fNIRS before and after the intervention. Results showed that their cognitive shifting and working memory tasks performance significantly improved, and their activation in the DLPFC significantly changed. Implications for this study were also included.
Citations in the library
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- EEG-based investigation of effects of mindfulness meditation training on state and trait by deep learning and traditional machine learning Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 31, 2023
- Using mindfulness-based intervention to promote executive function in young children: a multivariable and multiscale sample entropy study. Cerebral Cortex September 3, 2024
- The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for children with autism and their parents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Children’s Executive Functions: An Updated Meta-Analysis Mindfulness August 19, 2026
- Angklung Music-Based Mindfulness to Improve Cognitive and Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies July 25, 2026
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