Meditation Effects on the Control of Involuntary Contingent Reorienting Revealed With Electroencephalographic and Behavioral Evidence.
Shao-Yang Tsai, Satish Jaiswal, Chi-Fu Chang, Wei-Kuang Liang, Neil G Muggleton, Chi-Hung Juan
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2018 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2018.00017 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study with a between-groups comparison and within-subject pre/post intervention conditions Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 52 |
| Population | 26 meditators with an average of 2.9 years of meditation experience and 26 individuals with no prior meditation experience |
| Intervention | Meditation |
| Duration | 30-minute meditation session; each intervention given on different days |
| Measures | Pd (distractor positive) amplitude of event related modes (ERMs) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Attentional control Attentional suppression Contingent reorienting Event related modes |
| Key findings | A 30-minute meditation session improved overall task accuracy for all participants, regardless of meditation experience. Meditators showed more accurate and efficient attentional suppression than non-meditators, indicated by a larger Pd (distractor positive) amplitude in event-related modes for target-like distractors. The authors suggest that meditation training may facilitate better attentional control over distractors. |
Abstract
Prior studies have reported that meditation may improve cognitive functions and those related to attention in particular. Here, the dynamic process of attentional control, which allows subjects to focus attention on their current interests, was investigated. Concentrative meditation aims to cultivate the abilities of continuous focus and redirecting attention from distractions to the object of focus during meditation. However, it remains unclear how meditation may influence attentional reorientation, which involves interaction between both top-down and bottom-up processes. We aimed to investigate the modulating effect of meditation on the mechanisms of contingent reorienting by employing a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task in conjunction with electrophysiological recording. We recruited 26 meditators who had an average of 2.9 years of meditation experience and a control group comprising 26 individuals without any prior experience of meditation. All subjects performed a 30-min meditation and a rest condition with data collected pre- and post-intervention, with each intervention given on different days. The state effect of meditation improved overall accuracy for all subjects irrespective of their group. A group difference was observed across interventions, showing that meditators were more accurate and more efficient at attentional suppression, represented by a larger Pd (distractor positive) amplitude of event related modes (ERMs), for target-like distractors than the control group. The findings suggested that better attentional control with respect to distractors might be facilitated by acquiring experience of and skills related to meditation training.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Does mindfulness training modulate the influence of spatial attention on the processing of intracutaneous electrical stimuli? PLoS One August 9, 2018
- Time, Consciousness, and Lifespan Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness September 1, 2025
- Investigating the effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on stress level and brain activity of college students IBRO Neuroscience Reports May 1, 2022
Cites 15
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences October 11, 2007
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Investigating the phenomenological matrix of mindfulness-related practices from a neurocognitive perspective. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
and 10 more in the library