Mindfulness video game improves connectivity of the fronto-parietal attentional network in adolescents: A multi-modal imaging study
Elena Patsenko, Nagesh Adluru, Rasmus M. Birn, Diane E. Stodola, Tammi R. A. Kral, Reza Farajian, Lisa Flook, Cory A. Burghy, Constance Steinkuehler, Richard J. Davidson
Scientific Reports December 10, 2019 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53393-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled experimental study (video game intervention with control game comparison) Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Adolescents |
| Duration | Two weeks |
| Measures | resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), fractional anisotropy (FA), attention task |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Two weeks of playing Tenacity, a game modeling focused attention on breathing, was associated with greater left fronto-parietal functional connectivity and convergent structural connectivity changes in adolescents compared with a control game. Changes in functional and structural connectivity were linked to attention-task performance, and the two connectivity measures correlated only in the Tenacity group. |
Abstract
Abstract: Mindfulness training has been shown to improve attention and change the underlying brain substrates in adults. Most mindfulness training programs involve a myriad of techniques, and it is difficult to attribute changes to any particular aspect of the program. Here, we created a video game, Tenacity, which models a specific mindfulness technique – focused attention on one’s breathing – and assessed its potential to train an attentional network in adolescents. A combined analysis of resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) yielded convergent results – change in communication within the left fronto-parietal network after two weeks of playing Tenacity compared to a control game. Rs-FC analysis showed greater connectivity between left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) in the Tenacity group. Importantly, changes in left dlPFC – IPC rs-FC and changes in structural connectivity of the white matter tract that connects these regions –left superior longitudinal fasiculus (SLF) – were associated with changes in performance on an attention task. Finally, changes in left dlPFC – IPC rs-FC correlated with the change in left SLF structural connectivity as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) in the Tenacity group only.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The effect of mindfulness-based intervention on neurobehavioural functioning and its association with white-matter microstructural changes in preterm young adolescents Scientific Reports February 3, 2023
- Consumer-Grade Neurofeedback With Mindfulness Meditation: Meta-Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research April 17, 2025
- Mindful young brains and minds: a systematic review of the neural correlates of mindfulness-based interventions in youth. Brain Imaging and Behavior April 1, 2025
- The impact of an app-delivered mindfulness-based intervention on resting-state functional connectivity in pediatric concussion: a pilot study Frontiers in Neuroscience September 17, 2026
- Does video game playing stimulate mindfulness? Human Technology December 30, 2025
Cites 10
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 28, 2007
- Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence Journal of Neuroscience October 21, 2009
- Cognitive-Affective Neural Plasticity following Active-Controlled Mindfulness Intervention Journal of Neuroscience October 31, 2012
- A mind you can count on: validating breath counting as a behavioral measure of mindfulness Frontiers in Psychology October 24, 2014
and 5 more in the library