Toward a Refined Mindfulness Model Related to Consciousness and Based on Event-Related Potentials
Charles Verdonk, Marion Trousselard, Frédéric Canini, François Vialatte, Céline Ramdani
Perspectives on Psychological Science June 8, 2020 DOI: 10.1177/1745691620906444 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Across 29 ERP studies, the authors report that neural features of mindfulness were consistently associated with self-regulation of attention and, in most cases, with reduced reactivity to emotional stimuli and improved cognitive control, while no studies of body awareness were found. They propose a unified mechanistic model in which mindfulness decreases the threshold of conscious access. |
Abstract
Neuroimaging, behavioral, and self-report evidence suggests that there are four main cognitive mechanisms that support mindfulness: (a) self-regulation of attention, (b) improved body awareness, (c) improved emotion regulation, and (d) change in perspective on the self. In this article, we discuss these mechanisms on the basis of the event-related potential (ERP). We reviewed the ERP literature related to mindfulness and examined a data set of 29 articles. Our findings show that the neural features of mindfulness are consistently associated with the self-regulation of attention and, in most cases, reduced reactivity to emotional stimuli and improved cognitive control. On the other hand, there appear to be no studies of body awareness. We link these electrophysiological findings to models of consciousness and introduce a unified, mechanistic mindfulness model. The main idea in this refined model is that mindfulness decreases the threshold of conscious access. We end with several working hypotheses that could direct future mindfulness research and clarify our results.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Intermediate effects of mindfulness practice on the brain activity of college students: An EEG study IBRO Neuroscience Reports March 7, 2023
- Using Electroencephalography to Advance Mindfulness Science: A Survey of Emerging Methods and Approaches. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025
- Cultivating inner access: Effects of a wheel of awareness–based mindfulness intervention on psychopathology and awareness of internal states Research Square June 22, 2026
- Changes in Mental Health and EEG Biomarkers of Undergraduates Under Different Patterns of Mindfulness. Brain Topography December 25, 2023
- Probing the posture with machine learning provides physiological evidence supporting the enhanced body awareness hypothesis in trait mindfulness Frontiers in Physiology September 2, 2022
and 2 more in the library
Cites 41
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems Nature Reviews Neuroscience April 20, 2016
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica April 28, 2011
- Mental Training Affects Distribution of Limited Brain Resources PLoS Biology May 4, 2007
and 36 more in the library